Many boys who were sexually abused by a teacher show persistent psychological or medical problems years after the abuse ended.

It is well established that sexual abuse of whatever nature leaves a legacy that lasts a lifetime whatever the gender of the victim.

The study followed boys from South Wales who were sexually abused between 1981 and 1993 by one pedophile, a primary school teacher, when most were less than 10 years old. The level of abuse varied among the children, from genital fondling over clothes to oral sex or mutual masturbation. The abuses stopped when the teacher was arrested in 1993, after one of the boys reported what was happening.

The study authors examined health records from 93 of the boys abused by the teacher, to determine if they reported more long-lasting health problems than boys who had not been abused.

Immediately after the teacher was arrested, the abuse victims appeared to have no more psychological or health problems than those who had not been sexually abused. However, 6 years after contact with their abuser, three times as many abused boys as unharmed children had psychological or unexplained health problems that lasted more than one year. Problems included low back or joint pain with no identifiable cause, depression, anxiety or substance abuse. One abused boy had committed suicide.

It is difficult to conduct well-designed studies into childhood sexual abuse, due to the shame and secrecy associated with the events.

Pedophilia is underdiagnosed and underreported and generally people don't want to believe it happens.

Nonetheless, the few studies of pedophilia have suggested that many abused children suffer from long-lasting effects of their abuse. These effects can persist into adulthood, leading to relationship, parenting and sexual problems that may increase the risk of the children becoming adult abusers themselves.

Many of the boys in the study have certain characteristics that may increase the chance that they will be happy, healthy adults. The prognosis long term is said to be better if the child is preadolescent when it happens, abuse does not involve body penetration, the child remains at home and supported by family. Hopefully, this should mean that the long-term prognosis for our boys may be better.

Archives of Disease in Childhood 2002;86:164-167

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

With the pedophile and sexual abuse issues by priests in the Catholic Church being highlighted in the media this has become a hot topic. Clearly, this issue is not restricted to priests. Sexual abuse to girls or boys can have incredible devastation on not only their emotional health, but also their physical health. It is quite common to see some of our most seriously physically ill patients to have an underlying sexual abuse issue at the core of their problem. Traditional cognitive counseling is typically necessary to come to grips with the situation. It provides one with a measure to understand the process, but in my experience, rarely provides a solution for the subconscious disruptions that contributed to the problem. EFT is one of the major tools that we use to help the individual resolve the problem at a deep level. While I have done a workshop on EFT, sexual abuse is a profoundly serious issue and really should only be addressed with a skilled therapist. Later this year I hope to provide a US and International directory of "certified" EFT practitioners. In the meantime you can visit Gary Craig's site and use the list he has compiled. Many of the therapists allow you to have a brief free introductory session to see if continuing makes sense for you. Related Articles: Effects of Childhood Abuse Persist Into Adulthood Childhood Abuse Leads to Dangerous Sexual Behavior Childhood Abuse Predicts Problem Drinking In Women