How does sexual abuse among adolescent girls negatively affect their self-esteem in their adulthood? This matter of contention can be one that is considered controversial and unsupported to most, though some may disagree. The chain reaction of trauma, such as sexual abuse is not and should not be perceived as a minor change that occurs prior to an incident, seeing that it alters the overall perspective of self, others, and the world in a general spectrum.
Taking into consideration of the traumatic and emotional impediment left by their abusers, victims tend to devalue themselves as a response. As a subset of the devaluing, victims also tend to heap their social encounters to a bare minimum as a result of social anxiety. Women victims who survived sexual abuse as young girls, regularly endure cases of mental illnesses, especially post dramatic stress disorder. The women who suffer from these mental illnesses find themselves to be disconnected with the world due to the inability to live past their trauma.
As a result of the devaluing and mental illnesses, women victims have difficulty seeing themselves as anything more than a victim, ultimately deteriorating their self-awareness and self-confidence, vital necessities to a woman’s self-esteem. The devaluing process post abuse It is not uncommon for victims of any type of sexual abuse to blame themselves, therefore devaluing one’s self is also expected. (Bowles, 2014. ) The apex of childhood sexual abuse, is the lack of power that the victims undergo in that very moment.
Unknowingly do women carry around this powerless tangibility, as a result, they generalized that shame to their day to day lives hindering them from prosperity. (Bowles, 2014. ) The hindrance from their trauma molds them into believing they are unworthy of moving past what has happened. Needless to say, women of CSA conventionally possess an ascending rate of early mortality from causes such as suicides or drug use/overdoses.
Considering that these victims are inapt to deem themselves as anything more than that powerless child who could not protect themselves, nor be protected, their mental stability and self-preservation conclusively began to lapse. Due to this decline, that is when their early mortality comes into effect, leaning them to “solution” like suicide and drugs (overdoses). (Najman, 2007. ) Mental illnesses post abuse Childhood sexual abuse can cause a variations of mental illnesses from the moment it manifest and thereon.
Whether the abuse was penetration or non-penetration, the mental scaring regarding the incident influences the overall stability of the wiring of the brain. Seeing that sexual abuse is such a traumatizing experiencing for anyone, especially children. Witnessing and/or being of victim of sexual abuse can cause a paradigm shift within one’s self about one’s self. A victim of abuse may develop an inferiority complex and begin to think that they are lesser than others and this is the only thing that people will use them for.
Someone who witnesses sexual abuse may become emotionally scarred and begin to put up emotional barriers due to the lack of trust they have in people which stems from the sight that they have seen and some individuals may “remain stuck in a state of disorganization and despair” (Subica, 2013. ) These shifts in how a person thinks will cause the brain to rewire thus serving as the catalyst for mental illnesses to transpire. One reoccurring mental illness that is prevalent in most people who have suffered from sexual abuse is depression.
Depression caused sexual abuse leads to self-loathing and causes one to be in a constant state of worry. Another mental illness that victims of sexual abuse commonly suffer from is PTSD. PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental illness that is generated from some form(s) of trauma to the brain. CSA victims experience it more often because the attachment of the memory is one that has in some fashion scarred them. Female victims of sexual abuse that have developed PTSD develop a fear that causes them to find it hard to function in relationships.
If a partner were to commit any type of sexual advance towards the person with the PTSD they may be thrown into a fit and find it hard to maintain their relationship. Like many predicted, a topic of this sort is unsupported and too controversial to diagnosis. Although, it is proven that childhood sexual abuse can cause women to devalue themselves in their adulthood, it is not for certain that mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder is driven from the trauma of the incident.
Factors like how server the abuser was and how long the abuse lasted should be taken in consideration. It is unlikely that a female can suffer from PTSD in her adulthood from only one case of sexual abuse in her childhood. In addition, like if the abuser was a familiar unit in the victims life. This particular research is one that has too many uncredited factors, therefore a final assessment cannot be made
