What is childhood sexual abuse trauma?

These are the psychological processes that shape childhood sexual abuse trauma.

Childhood sexual abuse is among the most common causes of psychological trauma..

In this article we will look at its key disruptive elements in mental health. Understanding the psychological elements at the base of childhood trauma is important to know how to act in these cases.

What is a trauma?

The human mind is characterized by its dynamism, the way in which our interaction with the world and with those who populate it makes our way of interpreting things, thinking and feeling evolve. It is thanks to this dynamic nature of the mind that we are so predisposed to learn in all kinds of situations; in fact, we do it constantly, even when we are not aware of it. This is precisely why we are capable of carrying out tasks that are far removed from the aptitudes with which we are born: learning several languages, reading, playing complex sports, and so on.

But this tendency to learn is not limited only to internalizing verbalizable knowledge (knowing about history, philosophy, etc.). (knowing about history, philosophy, etc.) or ways of coordinating our muscles to know how to move in certain situations that require it (driving, climbing, etc.). It also includes a predisposition to learn through emotions.

Many experiences we go through mark us, for better and for worse, something that should not surprise us: emotions are the main element that motivates us to adapt to the circumstances we live in and to overcome difficulties without falling into the same mistakes over and over again. But sometimes, those emotional marks are so intense that they become dysfunctional, a problem that goes beyond the painful experience that has generated that memory. This is what happens with trauma.

Trauma occurs when we are not able to integrate in our memories in a normal way the contents of a certain experience that made us suffer a lot; this causes us to evoke the memories of a certain experience.This causes us to evoke again and again the emotions and sensations linked to that part of our emotional memory, and that this experience disturbs us, generating anxiety, fear, or in extreme cases, even dissociations. In most cases, traumas are produced by experiences associated with violence or catastrophes and accidents, with sexual abuse being among these kinds of experiences.

Traumatic alterations in childhood

Psychological trauma is a phenomenon that can occur in people of any age, but childhood is the time of life when we are most vulnerable to it. At this age the mark left by the traumatic event usually leaves more after-effects, and these have a greater capacity to negatively affect the psychological development of the victim.

On the one hand, the feeling of helplessness of children with traumas tends to be greater, as they have a lower capacity to cope with the traumatic event.The children are less able to identify and express their emotions. Although it has been proven that putting into words what we feel helps to overcome traumatic events, in the first years of life it is difficult to make use of this kind of resources (which are part of what is known as "emotional labeling").

On the other hand, the lack of information, of referents, of material resources and of criteria to know what to do, means that many children are unable to make use of these resources.In fact, many children are not even able to leave the context that can expose them to traumatic situations: homes where there is domestic violence, educational centers where abuse occurs, etc. In fact, it is very common for them to feel guilty for what happens to them.

Because the way we manage our emotions when dealing with painful situations greatly affects how they are recorded in our memories, childhood sexual abuse can lead to a chain reaction of psychological problems that continue for many years, especially if psychological treatment is never available. Once the trauma has been consolidated in the worst possible way, it is more difficult to correct the situation (although not impossible), and can facilitate the appearance of imbalances in managing emotions and integrating into society.

For example, it has been shown that in the United States of America the percentage of people who were sexually abused in childhood is twice as high in prisons as outside themThis is despite the fact that, as we shall see, this kind of disturbance does not occur primarily in poor families or families at risk of exclusion, but occurs in all social classes. Moreover, in the USA it has been found that those who were sexually abused in early life are about nine times more likely to be involved in criminal activity than the average citizen.

Characteristics of families in which sexual abuse can occur

Not trivializing sexual abuse means becoming aware that these forms of violence are a cross-cutting phenomenon throughout society. They do not occur only in poor homes or dysfunctional families, but their prevalence extends to all types of childhoods and domestic and educational contexts: wherever there are children, sexual abuse can occur.

That is why there is no characteristic "type of family" in which this type of violation of children occurs; however, there are factors that increase the risk of this occurring. there are factors that increase the risk of this occurring.. Among them, the fact that the child does not live with relatives, the use of drugs by one or both parents, the fact of having developed some form of disability, or the contexts of domestic violence.

Sexual abuse in childhood and the family

In most cases, the perpetrator of child sexual abuse is part of the victim's family; in addition, sometimes the father and/or mother is aware of what is happening but covers up these violations. This creates a toxic atmosphere around the child. who participates in the violence he or she is experiencing and from which it is difficult to escape: one must deal not only with the memories of the abuse but with the emotional ambivalence of how one feels about the parent, uncle or aunt, etc.

In other cases, the trauma has a scope that goes beyond the immediate victim of the abuse. For example, it occurs when the parent blames him/herself for not having realized earlier what was happening, or considers him/herself a participant in what happened for not having taken action at the first suspicion, etc.

In short, the trauma of sexual abuse has both an individual and a family dimension both in the risk factors and in the effects of this form of violence.

Are you looking for psychotherapeutic support?

If you want to start a process of psychological therapy to overcome problems associated with trauma, I invite you to get in touch with me..