Optimal Treatment Strategies for Sexually Abused Children

Child sexual abuse is a serious public health problem that places children at high risk for developing anxiety, mood, conduct, sexual, and substance abuse disorders. It also increases their likelihood of experiencing further victimization. It is imperative that abused children are provided with effective interventions to minimize their risk of developing problems that can be disruptive to their psychosocial development. Evidence suggests that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can effectively ameliorate many abuse-related symptoms exhibited by sexually abused children and their parents. However, it is unknown whether CBT treatment should include gradual exposure (GE), an intervention that involves the gradual confrontation of abuse-related thoughts and memories with therapist feedback to assist the child in effectively processing the abusive experience. Because this component of CBT may be more difficult for children and their parents, it is important to determine if and when GE is essential for optimal recovery in abused children. Children and their parents will be randomly assigned to receive one of four treatments: brief abuse-focused treatment, brief coping skills treatment, extended abuse-focused treatment, and extended coping skills treatment. Assessments will be conducted before, during, and after treatment and at 6- and 12-month follow-up visits. Standardized evaluations will be conducted to assess parents' distress and support levels; parent reports of children's behavior patterns, sexualized behaviors, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms; and children's self-reports of PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms, body safety skills, and victimization experiences.