Childhood Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome: What It Is, And Characteristics
Over the last decades, the problem of sexual abuse of minors and its consequences has been deeply investigated.
Many of these consequences are psychological. That is the perspective that addresses child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome a construct that we will analyze in detail in the following paragraphs to understand what it consists of and what implications it has for victims.
What is child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome?
People who have suffered sexual abuse while they were minors are not only victims of the atrocious act itself, but they may in turn be victimized later as a consequence of the event suffered. This phenomenon is what Roland C. Summit explored, when in 1983 he proposed the existence of the child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome.
This author developed this concept to try to establish the steps that, according to him, all or most of the children who had been repeatedly sexually abused went through. This scheme shows a psychological process of getting used to this type of abuse. To do this, he suggested the existence of five stages or milestones that minors should go through during this process.
Later we will explore these five stages of adjustment syndrome to childhood sexual abuse. Summit also talks about the relationship that the abuser generally has with the victim, since in a high percentage of cases, it is usually a close person, be it a family member, a teacher, a monitor, a family friend, etc.
This relationship has a direct effect on the child’s perception of the situation, feelings of shame, helplessness and even guilt, as we will see when we describe the phases of the adjustment syndrome to child sexual abuse. And this process describes, always from the author’s point of view, the usual form of response of the abused child on a psychological level.
The stages of accommodation syndrome to childhood sexual abuse according to Summit
As we mentioned, the child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome proposed by Roland Summit consists of five stages. Below we will describe each of them in detail to understand the scheme that this author put on the table.
Childhood sexual abuse accommodation syndrome begins with the secret stage. This is usually the typical feature that occurs at the beginning of all abusive behavior. Let us remember that we have mentioned that normally the aggressor is an individual from an environment close to the child. Therefore, this person usually emphasizes to the victim the need not to tell anyone anything.
In this way, the child who suffers a sexual assault, which already makes him a victim, obviously, is also (normally) the victim of a person with whom he had a certain amount of trust, sometimes even being someone very close. But, in addition, they are forced to keep a secret about it, which can further increase the anguish, anxiety and discomfort of the minor.
Sometimes this secret is imposed through threats, either of harming him or his family, or even deepening the feeling of guilt and shame. if others find out what they have done. All of these are ways of continuing to victimize the child, beyond the abuse to which he has been subjected, and it is done through fear.
Therefore, this first level of the accommodation syndrome to child sexual abuse is crucial to understand the implications that the perception of the aggression received has on the child’s psychological level.
2. Helplessness
The victim, knowing that he is vulnerable and not being able to ask anyone for help, because he is forced to keep the secret under threats, or because out of shame, believing that he has done something wrong, he finds himself helpless. , helpless. That is the second phase that includes accommodation syndrome to childhood sexual abuse.
The child may not know why this event occurred, may be confused, or may not have the capacity to understand what has happened or its implications. Even more so when the aggression has come from someone she trusted or even loved, someone who should protect her and in reality has done the opposite.
All of this generates a deep feeling of helplessness, which is also aggravated by the obligation to keep the aggression secret. The child’s perception is that he cannot escape the abuse, which he will have to face repeatedly, without being able to do anything to avoid it.
If the aggressor also represents some type of authority for the minor, this feeling of helplessness and helplessness will increase, as the confusion and perception of the inevitability of the abuse will increase.
3. Entrapment and accommodation
The third stage reached in the child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome, according to Summit, is that of entrapment and accommodation to the abuse itself. This idea may seem strange or shocking, but the truth is that many times, the child who suffers sexual assault on a regular basis, knowing that he cannot tell anyone and that therefore no one is going to help him sadly you end up getting used to it.
It is a terrible issue, since it happens as a consequence of the two previous points that we had seen. On the one hand, the obligation to maintain silence, probably based on threats, and on the other, the perceived lack of protection due to this fact. These factors crystallize in a situation of entrapment in which the minor perceives that he has no alternative but to continue suffering the abuse.
Therefore, he ends up accommodating them, not in the sense of being satisfied with the situation, obviously, since it is a terrible drama that no person should experience, much less a minor. The meaning of accommodation is to get used to it, due to a lack of options. In other words, the child ends up accepting that he must be a victim of this abuse, since he cannot avoid it in any way.
4. Late disclosure
The next stage experienced by the child according to the child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome is that of delayed disclosure. What this fact refers to is reveal the secret about the attacks of which he is being a victim. This act often occurs, according to Summit, spontaneously, after some conflict, or because he reaches an age where he can muster the necessary courage to tell it.
The problem is that This fact can give rise to another form of victimization, and that is discredit. Many victims of abuse, who decide once and for all to tell the terrible situation they have experienced, find that their own family does not believe them, and they think that the minor is inventing the facts, that he is confusing them with other behaviors or that are the fruit of your imagination.
This is an extremely difficult situation to navigate, and many people resort to the defense mechanism of denial. The point is that this attitude only deepens the child’s wound. Many adults even blame the child for not having said anything sooner, which is, again, a way of turning him into a victim again.
5. Retraction
But the cycle does not end with that confession. The accommodation syndrome to childhood sexual abuse still has a final stage, which is none other than retraction. Indeed, Although the revelation of the facts can happen due to a moment of explosion or by gathering the strength to do so, that does not mean that the fear has completely disappeared.
As soon as the fear of retaliation returns, the child may retract his confession, claim that it was all a lie, that he made it up, or use any excuse. This happens because the fear of the consequences, both for him and for his family, is so strong that he does not feel able to try to escape these abuses.
The retraction phase, explains Summit, is frequent, except in cases in which the child perceives that he has full support from his family. and feel that you have the necessary support to be protected from the aggressor for having revealed the secret of the terrible acts to which he was subjecting you.
Criticism of the child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome
The so-called accommodation syndrome to child sexual abuse has not been accepted by everyone. It has received some criticism, to begin with, for using the word syndrome, which can lead one to believe that it is a diagnosis of psychopathology, when in reality it is not.
Likewise, authors such as Mary de Young criticized this concept for having been overused in the 80s and 90s to make accusations of sexual abuse of minors that later turned out not to be such.
It is important to keep in mind, therefore, that this is a theory formulated by a single author, but it does not have the recognition or support of institutions such as the American Psychological Association (APA).
