title: Psychological symptoms in sexually abused girls.
abstract: This study examined psychological symptoms exhibited by children who had recently been sexually abused. Twenty-four girls aged 6 to 12 years old were evaluated within six months of being abused using a variety of standardized child psychiatric instruments. Results showed a marked discrepancy between child and parent reports of symptoms. The abused children did not exhibit significant depressive, anxiety, or low self-esteem symptoms by self-report; however, their parents rated them as having significantly more behavioral problems than a normative sample but as somewhat less pathological than a clinical sample. The implications of these findings in relation to our current understanding of the psychological problems manifested by sexually abused children and for future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Mannarino
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011902:Rape; D012649:Self Concept