We have discussed in a previous article the phenomenon of the child victim’s adaptation and accommodation to sexual abuse (“Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome” – CSAAS, proposed by Roland C. Summit). In the present article we will discuss two other particular psychological processes closely related to the phenomenon of abuse accommodation. It should be emphasized from the outset that the psychological phenomena under discussion are not diagnoses per se, but are based on clinical observations and are documented in case descriptions of sexual abuse of minors.

When we are talking about sexual assaults over a long period of time, with multiple acts of aggression, most often occurring in a family context, without adequate support or supervision of the minor by caregivers, two other particular psychological processes/phenomena have been observed and documented (besides adaptation and accommodation to abuse): 1) coping strategies based on a cognitive avoidant style and 2) desensitization to abuse. Most often, the psychological processes occur in parallel, reinforce each other and have the function of an abuse coping strategy.

It has been observed that some of the minors – victims of sexual assaults over a long period of time, report the assaults in a non-emotional, distant way, as well as that they do not manifest or display obvious signs of emotional distress, stress reactions or symptoms following the assaults. At a first glance, one might hastily conclude either that the minors have not been victimized or that the assaults have not been experienced as traumatic. The literature helps us to understand the cognitive avoidant style theory and children’s particular ways of reacting (developed by Greenhoot & Bunnel, 2009): “This model suggests that aversive experiences in childhood lead to the development of a persistent avoidant cognitive style, which involves the child’s avoidance of talking about, remembering, or thinking about past traumatic events in order to block potential negative effects” (referring here to the distress the child may experience by recalling the abuse). (Three longitudinal studies conducted by Greenhoot and colleagues support this theory. They have observed that adolescents who have been abused in a family context throughout their childhood produce/report shorter and more general memories (…) The study also found that adolescents who were not abused during their childhood use more emotionally charged language when answering questions about negative life experiences. (…) Adolescents with a history of bullying do not show as many emotional cues when recounting memories of childhood conflict events. (…) These children have, in a way, become desensitized to the situations of conflict and aggression to which they have been constantly subjected“ (”Conducting interviews with child victims of abuse and witnesses of crime. A practical guide”, Mireille Cyr, 2022, Ed. Routledge). This avoidant cognitive style is most likely for the child to act as self-protection against sexual assaults suffered over a long period of time. The very conscious or involuntary use of this cognitive avoidant style appears as a post-abuse manifestation or symptom.

In the long term, the use of this avoidant cognitive style is likely to make minors vulnerable to new situations of aggression, as they will avoid to adequately recognize the aggression situations they have experienced and will avoid to really feel emotions and thoughts related to aggression, all of which will result in the lack of appropriate self-protective behaviors.

In the long term, the use of this cognitive avoidant style is likely to make minors vulnerable to new situations of aggression, as they will avoid adequately acknowledging the aggression situations they have experienced and will avoid really feeling emotions and thoughts related to the aggression, all of which will result in a lack of appropriate self-protective behaviors.As for desensitization to abuse, it most often seems to occur in the constellation of psychological phenomena of adjustment to abuse and cognitive avoidant style. In terms of adaptation, the child integrates the abuse into the child’s normal way of life and lifestyle and shows a type of acceptance and resilience to the manifestation of abuse. As a result of this psychic mechanism of “adaptation to abuse”, the child’s “desensitization” to abuse occurs, in other words, the minor may no longer perceive the abuse events in their seriousness and may not manifest states and symptoms that we would normally expect children who experience similar situations of abuse to manifest. The literature also indicates that due to children’s adaptation and desensitization to the abusive situations they have experienced, when they report the abusive events, for example at the hearing, they may appear non-involved or non-affected by the events.

We quote from the literature some relevant information for understanding the psychological phenomena described above: “Desensitization is consistent with the concept of habituation – which occurs when an organism’s response to a stimulus decreases over time as a result of repeated and prolonged exposure to that stimulus (Groves & Thompson, 1970). Exposure to a stressor will initially produce an increase in the organism’s response, followed by decreases/decreases in the organism’s responses/reactions when further exposed to the same stimulus. (…) This process of emotional desensitization appears to be adaptive in the short term to decrease depressive symptoms, but puts children and adolescents at risk for the development of a lack of empathy, perpetuation of violence, and/or re-victimization if aggression becomes habitual/part of the person’s life“ (”Emotional Desensitization to Violence Contributes to Adolescents’ Violent Behavior“, Mrug S. & co, 2016, National Library of Medicine, web address Emotional Desensitization to Violence Contributes to Adolescents’ Violent Behavior – PMC).

In the long term, these psychological adaptations of the type of adaptation and desensitization to abuse, in the absence of specialized psychological intervention, can create the premises for the occurrence of new situations of sexual aggression against the minor. Specialized psychological intervention must aim to modify the child’s defence strategies in the face of situations of aggression of any kind, in order to create new constructive defence strategies, prevention and defence in the face of situations of aggression.

It is important to note that understanding the coping strategies discussed above can provide a particular insight into how children may respond to sexual abuse, highlighting the complexity of their reactions. They should not be used as a means of diagnosis or to prove the guilt or innocence of the perpetrator.

Bibliography:

1. Mireille Cyr, 2022, „Conducting interviews with child victims of abuse and witnesses of crime. A practical guide”, Routledge;
2. Mrug S. & co., 2016, „Emotional Desensitization to Violence Contributes to Adolescents’ Violent Behavior”, National Library of Medicine, web address Emotional Desensitization to Violence Contributes to Adolescents’ Violent Behavior – PMC).

Article written by Patricia Aramă, psychologist