ABSTRACT
Childhood sexual abuse, neglect and other kinds of emotional and physical trauma can increase the risk of the occurrence of a wide variety of symptoms, conditions and disorders. On the basis of the research evidence spanning the last 20 years or so, a broad range of problems have been linked to sexual abuse in childhood (Fergusson and Mullen 1999). These include:
· depression · anxiety · phobias · Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) · Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) · eating disorders · dissociative disorders · substance abuse and misuse · suicide, attempted suicide, self-harm · personality disorders.
