Nash M R, Zivney O A, Hulsey T
College of Liberal Arts, Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee-Knoxville 37996-0900.
Child Abuse Negl. 1993 May-Jun;17(3):401-8. doi: 10.1016/0145-2134(93)90063-b.
The psychiatric histories and projective test responses of 102 sexually abused girls (ages 5 to 16) were examined to determine if some particular characteristics of sexual abuse were reliably associated with more serious impairment. Characteristics of abuse significantly associated with greater psychological disturbance were: more than one perpetrator, an early age of abuse onset (before age 7 or 8), and periods of intense and frequent abuse episodes (more than 3 or 4 times per month). What enhanced the child's capacity to recover was the presence of a relatively stable two-parent household. Implications for prognosis and treatment are discussed.
