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K-12 ADULT SEXUAL MISCONDUCT PREVENTION

THE IMPACT OF ASM

Child sexual abuse, including adult sexual misconduct (ASM) in schools, is detrimental to children’s physical, psychological, and academic well-being, as well as to their behavioral development (Lalor and McElvaney, 2010; Hornor, 2009; Shoop, 2004). This victimization, whether through a single event or chronic exposure, can result in either short-term or lifelong effects that include maladaptive behaviors, mental disorders, developmental delays, social difficulties, and a shorter life expectancy (“Linking Childhood,” 2015).

The Division of Violence Prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) views child maltreatment as a serious public health concern (CDC, 2015a). The CDC defines child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver (e.g., clergy, coach, teacher) that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child (CDC, 2015b).

This definition of child maltreatment is broader than ASM, as it addresses any type of harm or potential for harm to a child, whether or not it is sexual in nature and regardless of where it takes place. ASM is therefore one type of child maltreatment. The following consequences of child maltreatment have been noted by the CDC and researchers in this area:

Martin, Bergen, and Richardson (2004) found that the rate of psychiatric diagnoses was 56 percent in women and 47 percent in men who had suffered childhood sexual abuse.
The stress of abuse can result in anxiety and make victims more vulnerable to problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder; conduct disorder; and learning, attention, and memory difficulties (Cantón-Cortés and Cantón, 2010; Dallam, 2001; Perry, 2001).
Early child maltreatment can have a negative effect on the ability of both men and women to establish and maintain healthy, intimate relationships in adulthood (Colman and Widom, 2004).
Children who experience maltreatment are at increased risk for smoking, alcoholism, and drug abuse as adults, as well as engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors (Nichols and Harlow, 2004; Sapp and Vandeven, 2005; Dube et al., 2005).

According to the American Association of University Women ("Hostile Hallways,” 2001), the developmental effects of maltreatment can include

improper brain development;
impaired learning ability and social and emotional skills;
lower language development; and
higher risk for heart, lung, and liver diseases; obesity; cancer; high blood pressure; and high cholesterol.

At least a third of victimized students surveyed by AAUW (“Hostile Hallways,” 2001) reported behaviors that would negatively affect academic achievement, stating that they

avoid the teacher or other educator (43 percent);
do not want to go to school (36 percent);
do not talk much in class (34 percent);
have trouble paying attention (31 percent);
stay home from school or cut a class (29 percent); and
find it hard to study (29 percent).

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