Factors Responsible For Sexual Abuse As Expressed By Students Of Federal College Of Education, Osiele Abeokuta, Nigeria

Effect of Sexual Abuse
    Childhood sexual abuse is a pervasive and devastating social problem. It is a sexual act imposed upon a child who lacks emotional, maturational and cognitive development.
    Individual can interpret and react to the abuse in different ways, so it is very difficult to accurately predict how being sexually abused will affect an individual. Mathew (2002) reported that being sexually abused can affect:
-    relationship
-    trust
-    self-esteem
-    self-perception
-    boundaries
-    sexual orientation
-    sense of being loved
-    sex, sexual interests, sexual arousal
-    Fear and other emotions such as guilt and shame.
If a child is sexually abused by a family member, or someone very close to family, it can distort the aforementioned areas much more severely. For males who have sexually abused by other makes, the effect can be somewhat different. Mathew (2002), reported that some of these effects includes:
-    gender identity problems
-    pathological shame and guilt levels
-    Compulsive masturbation.
-    Sexual perversion development
-    Severe problem with intimacy.
-    Moderate to severe substance abuse problems.
According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for children and families (1998), there are no clear profiles of sexually abused victim, but its research indicates that there are symptoms that persist frequently in young survivors.
These include;
Anxiety/Numbing: Young people who have been sexually abuse often exhibit the polarity of anxiety/numbing behaviours. These youths are hypervigilants, scanning the environment for threats to their safety; conversely they have learnt to shut down their feelings. The chronicity of the abuse plays a part in the level of anxiety experienced by child victims. Youth who been assaulted through the most of their developmental phase have learned to maintain a defensive posture to protect themselves. They have learned the most debilitating lesson of child abuse: people who love you hurt you. For these children, the expression of caring is presumed to be followed by harm or danger. At the end of 4 months of therapy, 6 years old “Katie” for example, brought a paddle to her therapist. When the therapist asked about the paddle, Kate said, “It is for you to hit me with”. When the therapist asked why Kate thought she wanted to hit her, the child replied “well you take me, don’t you?” The sad reality is that children seek out behaviours with which they are familiar. In some instances, children do so to master or take control of situations, thereby reducing their anxiety about what might happen next.
Hypersensitivity: Young people growing up are violent or abusive environments tend to be hypersensitive to their surroundings. They find at sudden noises and are hyper aroused or over stimulated easily. They find it many experience acute far in some situations and typically “stay on alert”, which requires energy and takes tremendous toll on their physical and mental well-being. They tend to carry a lot of tension in their bodies, so they may not move as fluidly as other children. Many of these youth present somatic concerns, such as always having headaches or stomach pains. Again, the chronicity of the abuse is an important factor in the degree to which young people develop hypersensitivity. If the abuse in an isolated incident, the child is better able to re-group. When the assault is frequent or long-term, the child does not have respite to re-organize or stabilize and must develop highly refined defines mechanisms.
Depression: Even the youngest children who have been abused sexually, exhibit characteristics of depression. They may have a flat effect not make eye contact, or not laugh. There are many manifestation of depression, including self-mutilation, substance abuse, and eating or sleeping disorders. The foster parents of a 9 year old boy reported that he would cut himself and watch the blood run down his arm. A therapist asked what he said to himself when saw the blood, and the youth replied, “Guck”. Through further questioning, the therapist learned that the body expected quick thought of himself as arobot, which is a strong defense mechanism against being hurt. When he saw the blood, he actually became calm and felt better because he could say, “I’m a real human being”. For the next 3 weeks, he would be more interactive, responsive, and happy because he had verified his own existence. Birth families of girls who have experienced sexual abuse tended to have particular problems in communication, emotional involvement, discipline and general functioning.