Psychological Symptoms of Sexually Victimized Children and Adolescents Compared With Other Maltreatment Subtypes.

The differential effects of sexual victimization and other forms of maltreatment on psychological functioning are not well understood. A sample of sexually victimized children and adolescents (N = 70; 6.3-17.9 years) and a group of youth with a history of nonsexual maltreatment (N = 108; 6.7-16.9 years) were compared using measures of mental health and psychosocial functioning. Assessments included standardized clinical interviews on individual maltreatment history and current psychopathology as well as questionnaires on behavioral and emotional symptoms, including posttraumatic stress symptoms. The results from this study suggest that the risk of experiencing any current mental disorders was independent of type of maltreatment. The risk of meeting the criteria for a current diagnosis of major depression, however, is greater among youth with a history of maltreatment that includes sexual victimization. The significant impact of sexual victimization on posttraumatic stress symptoms was found to be nonsignificant after controlling for age and gender effects. The results indicate that the outcomes of child maltreatment depend on type of maltreatment, but age and gender must be taken into account.