This is a reflective commentary on the article Gender and Sequelae of Child Versus Adult Onset of Sexual Victimization: Body

Mass, Binge Eating, and Promiscuity authored by Terri Conley and Megan Garza. Essentially, their research focused on the different affects that sexual abuse has on children versus those abused as adults. They argue that those sexually abused under the age of sixteen may experience lifelong challenges, such as a lack of selfregulation later as adults. The lack of self-regulation is significant because it may underscore other negative behaviors, such as the eating disorders of bulimia and obesity as well as sexual promiscuity. The consequences of being abused as a young child may cause irreparable damage that continues throughout the childs life. According to Conley et al., abuse of a child has greater potential for a negative impact because they are psychologically developing. This means that if a child is unable to overcome a certain stage, they must repeat it throughout their lives until they succeed in moving forward. This, for example, may explain why those abused as children have a greater inability to regulate the amount of food that they eat, resulting in bulimia and obesity. The other behavior that is often a result of child sexual abuse is promiscuity. Not saying that everyone who is promiscuous was sexually abused as a child. In their research, Conley and Garza came to the conclusion that the men who had been sexually abused as children were more likely to become promiscuous than the women. But the women were more likely to have an eating disorder. I find it interesting how the negative implications of sexual abuse manifest themselves differently in men and women, thus potentially making for an interesting study.