Maternal sexual abuse of male children. When to suspect and how to uncover it.
Physicians need to be aware that women and mothers are capable of sexually abusing children and need to watch for signs that a mother may be at risk for perpetrating abuse or that a child may have been abused. Posttraumatic stress disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, secondary enuresis and encopresis, nightmares, and inappropriate sexual behavior are often symptoms of sexual abuse. It is important for physicians who are attempting to elicit a report of abuse from a child to keep in mind that (1) children express themselves most easily by nonverbal means, (2) the waiting room, school, and home are settings where information might be retrieved, and (3) the child's statements need to be evaluated using established criteria for analyzing their content. Physicians also need to remember that there is often an absence of physical findings in boys who have been sexually abused, although physical abuse and sexual abuse present simultaneously in some cases.
Elliott
A J
AJ
Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.
Peterson
L W
LW
D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010819:Physician's Role; D012307:Risk Factors