Article 1c: Child Sexual Abuse as a Unique Risk Factor for the Development of Psychopathology: The Compounded Convergence of Mechanisms (Noll, 2021)

Question 1

5 main consequences of child sexual abuse

Answer 1

1. Traumatic sexualisation: development of inappropriate sexual behaviours and feelings.
2. Biological embedding of stress: long-term impact of stress on biological systems, affecting the brain development, hormonal balance and immune function.
3. Emotion dysregulation: difficulties managing and responding to emotional experiences, leading to heightened sensitivity to stress and emotional reactivity.
4. Avoidance: coping mechanisms that involve avoiding situations that are connected to painful memories.
5. Insecure attachment: disrupted development of secure attachment styles, leading to difficulties in forming and maintaining healthy relationships.

Question 2

Sex-specific outcomes of childhood sexual abuse

Answer 2

• Heightened sexual activity (STI’s, prostitution)
• Teenage childbearing
• Sexual revictimization
• Sexual dysfunction
• Sexual offending

Question 3

Psychiatric disorder after sexual abuse

Answer 3

• Mood disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• PTSD
• Substance use disorder
• Personality disorders

Question 4

The compounded convergence of mechanisms model (CCM-model):

Answer 4

The consequences of childhood sexual abuse (avoidance, emotion dysregulation etc.) do not operate in isolation, but converge and interact with each other, which compounds (opstapelen) the risk for negative outcomes and causes higher co-occurrence and overlap in disordrs.