Childhood sexual abuse is traumatic

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119121422.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100106003608.htm

Disclosing Sexual Abuse Is Critical ScienceDaily (Jan. 22, 2010) -
Half of sexual abuse survivors wait up to five years before disclosing
they were victimized, according to a collaborative study from the
Université de Montréal, the Université du Québec à Montréal and the
Université de Sherbrooke published in The Canadian Journal of
Psychiatry.

"The number of victims who never reveal their secret or who wait many
years to do so is very high," says co-author Mireille Cyr, a
psychology professor of the Université de Montréal. "This is
regrettable because the longer they wait to reveal the abuse, the
harder and more enduring the consequences will be."

The research team surveyed 800 Quebec men and women and found 25
percent of respondents never divulged being sexually abused as
children. The scientists also found a sharp contrast between genders:
16 percent of women remain quiet about abuse, while 34 percent of men
never share their secret.

The investigation found that 22 percent of women and 10 percent of men
reported beings survivors of abuse, which ranged from molestation to
rape, which is comparable to the findings of previous studies on the
topic.

The psychological distress of victims includes anxiety, depression,
troubles concentrating and irritability. Certain victims suffer from
post-traumatic stress disorder, some relive the abuse psychologically
while others have dulled emotions or become hyper-vigilant.

The data suggests that victims are more likely to denounce their
abuser when he or she is a stranger. Unfortunately, in most cases,
serious abuse such as rape is committed by friends or family members.
This is true in 85 percent of cases for female victims and 89 percent
for male victims.

Professor Isabelle Daigneault, of the Université de Montréal
Department of Psychology, conducted a separate study correlating the
likelihood of young victims to become adult victims of sexual or
physical abuse.

Published in The International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect, her
sample examined 9,170 women and 7,823 men throughout Canada. Her
conclusions are startling: female survivors of childhood sexual abuse
are three to four times likely to be victims of physical or sexual
abuse as adults....

Male survivors of childhood sexual abuse are three times more likely
to be victims of physical abuse as men....

Martine Hébert, Marc Tourigny, Mireille Cyr, Pierre McDuff, Jacques
Joly. Prevalence of Childhood Sexual Abuse and Timing of Disclosure in
a Representative Sample of Adults From Quebec. The Canadian Journal of
Psychiatry, 2009;54(9):631-636
Daigneault et al. Men's and women's childhood sexual abuse and
victimization in adult partner relationships: A study of risk factors.
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2009; 33 (9): 638 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.
2009.04.003                          http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119121422.htm

                        
Abuse in Childhood Linked to Migraine and Other Pain Disorders
ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2010) — Researchers from the American Headache
Society's Women's Issues Section Research Consortium found that
incidence of childhood maltreatment, especially emotional abuse and
neglect, are prevalent in migraine patients. The study also found that
migraineurs reporting childhood emotional or physical abuse and/or
neglect had a significantly higher number of comorbid pain conditions
compared with those without a history of maltreatment.

Full findings of the study appear in the January issue of Headache:
The Journal of Head and Face Pain, published on behalf of the American
Headache Society by Wiley-Blackwell....

Tietjen et al. Childhood Maltreatment and Migraine (Part II).
Emotional Abuse as a Risk Factor for Headache Chronification. Headache
The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 2010; 50 (1): 32 DOI: 10.1111/j.
1526-4610.2009.01557.x
Tietjen et al. Childhood Maltreatment and Migraine (Part I).
Prevalence and Adult Revictimization: A Multicenter Headache Clinic
Survey. Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 2010; 50 (1): 20
DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2009.01556.x
Tietjen et al. Childhood Maltreatment and Migraine (Part III).
Association With Comorbid Pain Conditions. Headache The Journal of
Head and Face Pain, 2010; 50 (1): 42 DOI: 10.1111/j.
1526-4610.2009.01558.x
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100106003608.htm