Clinical and Sociodemographic Characteristics that May Affect Delays in Child Sexual Abuse Disclosures: Ten Years in Practice

Background: This study covers Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) survivors who had never disclosed the abuse until their psychiatric interview. There is a clear lack of understanding of which factors contribute to delays in the disclosure of CSA. Thus, we aimed to examine the risk factors and sociodemographic variables that may inhibit CSA disclosures. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the files of patients who presented to a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic with different complaints between 2010 and 2020 in a tertiary hospital. All of these sexual assaults were officially reported by a child and adolescent psychiatrist to the competent authorities. Results: The mean period of time from abuse to disclosure was 28.4 ± 32.5 months. The time from abuse to disclosure was significantly negatively correlated with mothers’ education years (r = −.430, P < .01) and with the age of onset of sexual abuse (r = −.589, P < .001). Results of multiple linear regression showed that female sex and the earlier age of onset of sexual abuse were significant predictors of increased duration from abuse to disclosure. Conclusion: Our results provide insights into several risks that may affect the time from abuse to disclosure for CSA survivors. Studies with larger samples are needed to understand the factors affecting the time from abuse to disclosure.