Therapeutic approaches with child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse have had a statistically significant impact on symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Aggregating the results of five studies, a systematic review identified that the effect on PTSD was reflected in a 68% improvement for children and adolescents who received treatment, compared to a 32% improvement for the groups who did not receive treatment [1].
Similarly, two other reviews corroborate the effectiveness of psychological treatment in reducing post-traumatic stress symptoms [2][3]. Therapeutic approaches also reduced the occurrence of externalizing behavior problems (e.g. problematic sexual behavior, hyperactivity, and aggression) by 78.5% compared to 21.5% for the groups that did not receive treatment [1].
Regarding internalizing behavior problems (e.g. depression and anxiety), there was a 69% improvement for children and adolescents who received treatment compared to a 31% improvement for the other untreated groups [1][2]. The application of the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) approach specifically has a medium effect in the treatment of post-traumatic stress and does not impact depression and anxiety reduction [4][5].