A new Canadian study reveals that the psychological and physical effects of childhood sexual abuse are closely tied. The finding could help healthcare professionals develop more effective interventions and ultimately improve mental and physical health outcomes for survivors of abuse in childhood. Authored by Pascale Vezina-Gagnon, a PhD candidate at Universite de Montreal’s Department of Psychology, under the supervision of Professor Isabelle Daigneault, the study is published today in Health Psychology.
*Twice as many diagnoses
The long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse on survivors’ health have only been recognized recently. An initial study of 1,764 children and adolescents, published in 2018, showed that girls who survived substantiated cases of sexual abuse received 2.1 times as many diagnoses of urinary health issues and 1.4 times as many diagnoses of…
