The Everstine & Everstine chapters from their 1989 book, Sexual Trauma in Children and Adolescents were written before the original Kaiser Permanente ACE studies of 1995-1997. Nonetheless, they write about the case of the little girl who was molested by a man in her apartment building. The father had, just 8 months before, left the little girl and her mother for another woman. They hadn’t seen him since. The little girl was vulnerable, looking for a father figure. So yes, it was not only the ACE of parental separation that the girl had suffered but it was the moment, a vulnerable moment, that found the little girl vulnerable to a sexual predator.
The authors recognize this, and ACEs come up as vulnerabilities, before the study. Another example is the “emotionally impoverished family” where the child does not receive the emotional attention they need. In this case, the authors suggest that the therapist help build outside support systems for the child: after school programs, religious youth programs were named. I am reassured when an author takes these “hidden” problems into account, rather than being so quick to pathologize the child.
I was impressed by the case studies presented by Everstine & Everstine and the creative and effective ways the therapists intervene. With Amy, for example the therapist got parents and teachers involved. The girl needed support in impulse control, so the therapist had the teachers put into place a behavioral modification treatment. The treatment was a success. Therapists were important in educating the parents about sexual acting out, and preventing shame inducing punishments. These were two difficult chapters to read but the authors gave me hope in the progress a sexually-traumatized youth can make in the care of a thoughtful and proactive therapist.