Ag. Ferguson, HOW GOOD IS THE EVIDENCE RELATING TO THE FREQUENCY OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AND THE IMPACT SUCH ABUSE HAS ON THE LIVES OF ADULT SURVIVORS, Public health, 111(6), 1997, pp. 387-391
Concerns relating to the methodological rigour of studies examining th
e frequency and effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) have comforted
those who dismiss the results as scaremongering. This review highligh
ts the difficulties to be overcome in interpreting the epidemiological
data currently available, and the lack of consensus regarding the tru
e frequency of CSA and the impact such abuse has on the lives of adult
survivors. However, it concludes that the rates of reporting and disc
losing a history of CSA are increasing, and that the health service ne
eds to recognise and respond to this changing clinical picture.