depression

This article is an overview of child sexual abuse, its effects on adults, and the stages of recovery. The stages of recovery are of particular benefit to partners as they provide a road map to help understand what your partner is going through, and where they are going. The stages are: Denial, Confused Awareness, Reaching Out, Anger, Depression, Clarity of Feelings and Emotions, Regrouping, and Moving-on.

Link: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/html/nfntsxagrsexa…

WebMD has an article and various resources on the effects of sexual abuse. The links below are to articles that talk in general about the effects sexual abuse has on survivors and their partners, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Links: http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/has-your-partner-been-a… http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20050519/child-sex-abuse-affect… http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20061121/stress-disorder-more-c… http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder

This study in the National Institute on Drug Abuse's web site reports that women who were sexually abused as children are roughly 3 times more likely to develop drug or alcohol addictions as adults. They were also roughly twice as likely to develop mental disorders such as depression and general anxiety disorder. Originally published in the Archives of General Psychiatry 57(10):953-959, 2000.

Link: http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol17N1/Childhood.html

This article - Couples therapy for women survivors of child sexual abuse who are in addictions recovery: A comparative case study of treatment process and outcome - talks about how survivors may be more prone to addictions (the author cites 45% of female survivors experience alcohol addiction), and the role that couples/marriage therapy plays in the recovery process. They review a number of cases and come to five assertions in their conclusion:

1 - Couples therapy is of benefit, mostly with communication skills and problem solving
2 - Marital burnout, if at high levels at pretherapy, can be improved through couples therapy
3 - The benefits of couples therapy may be compromised by high stress levels in the family household
4 - Long-lasting effects may not be evident until some time after therapy has been completed
5 - A decrease in the level of depression reported by more troubled partners is not a good indicator of couple improvement

Link: findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3658/is_200101/ai_n8943277