Which findings would lead the nurse to suspect that Anna is a victim of sexual abuse? Nurse Meredith is observing 8-year-old Anna during a community visit.
A. The child is fearful of the caregiver and other adults.
B. The child has a lack of peer relationships.
C. The child has self-injurious behavior.
D. The child has an interest in things of a sexual nature.

Letter D is the answer to this question. A normal 8-year-old child is interested in playing games that can give them the opportunity to play with other kids as at this stage building new friendships and relationships are more common.

For a sexually abused child, he or she may have an interest in playing a toy that he or she can use for sexual pleasure. Trained nurses can easily notice if a child uses a toy or object given to them act sexually onto it. At this age, normally some children have discovered pleasuring of oneself thus masturbate in private. But if a child masturbates in public it is a red flag for community workers to take a background check of the child’s family.

The child has an interest in things of a sexual nature.

An 8-year-old child is in the latency phase of development; in this stage. the childs interest in peers. activities. and school is the priority. Interest in sex and things of a sexual nature would occur appropriately during the age of puberty. not at this time. A child who is the victim of sexual abuse. however. may show an unusual interest in sex. The assessments in the other answer choices may indicate abuse. but not necessarily sexual abuse.