This project comprises a series of studies focusing on the psychological and biological effects of sexual abuse in female children. Subjects are sexually abused females (aged 6-15 years) and a non-abusing parent or legal guardian. Control subjects are matched for age, SES and one- or two-parent living situations. The project uses a multi-method approach to gather data on the psychological and physical development of these children. Methods include: Tanner staging of physical development, blood hormone levels, psychological tests of the children and developmental interviews from the parent or guardian. Three broad categories of hypotheses are tested: 1) that sexually abused girls will have significantly more difficulty during the transition through puberty, particularly with respect to sexual and aggressive behaviors; 2) that sexual abuse may effect specific hormonal levels and alter the timing and onset of puberty; 3) that sexually abused girls will demonstrate higher levels of dissociative behavior and maintain these dissociative behaviors into adolescence compared to control subjects who are predicted to show a decline in normative childhood dissociative behaviors.
