EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS REPORTED BY PARENTS OF SEXUALLY ABUSED, NONABUSED, AND ALLEGEDLY ABUSED PREPUBESCENT FEMALES

There have been few studies that have examined emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms that discriminate between well-defined groups of sexually abused and nonabused children. This study examined the results of a structured parent interview (SASA) completed on three matched samples of prepubescent females: 68 who were selected for nonabuse (NA Group), 68 from a sexual abuse clinic in which a perpetrator confessed (SA Group) and 68 seen at the same clinic who did not have a perpetrator confession (AA Group). Parents of girls in both the SA and AA groups reported increased sleep problems, fearfulness, emotional and behavioral changes, concentration problems, and sexual curiosity and knowledge. When contrasting the known (SA) with the allegedly abused sample (AA), self-consciousness, nightmares, and fearfulness of being left alone emerged significantly more frequently in the SA sample.