A Systematic Review of Interventions to Treat Child Sexual Abuse Victims with Disabilities
[Thesis]
Mulvihill, Jenny
Wilson, Alyssa N.
Saint Louis University
2020
45
M.S.
Saint Louis University
2020
Sexual violence towards children is a traumatic event which requires family and targeted interventions to support the child. When children with disabilities are the victims, interventions need to be specialized to the developmental strengths and differences of the child and disability. In 2014, a systematic review was conducted by Mikton, Maguire, and Shakespeare that summarized effectiveness of interventions to prevent and to react to violence against victims with disabilities. The studies that included interventions to treat victims with disabilities were only conducted with adults with disabilities. This systematic review further explores the existing research on interventions for sexual abuse victims and focuses specifically on children who have a diagnosed disability. One evidence-based intervention in peer-reviewed literature met the eligibility requirements of the study: Sullivan, Scanlan, Brookhouser, and Schulte's 1992 article, which implemented psychotherapy with sexually abused children who were deaf. Clinical guidelines are given for practitioners working with this specialized population based on narrative reviews on others' work, applications from therapeutic work with neurotypical children who have been sexually abused, considerations from work with adults with disabilities who have been treated for sexual abuse histories, and therapeutic modifications made to cognitive-behavioral and psychoanalytic treatments in treating other needs of individuals with disabilities.