ABSTRACT The current descriptive analysis sought to identify the emotional and psy- chosocial problems experienced by children who have been sexually abused. Of 518 children with a history of sexual abuse who applied to the Child Pro- tection Center, 443 were included in the study. Approximately 71.6% of chil- dren were subject to sexual abuse entailing penetration, whereas 69% were subject to sexual abuse not entailing penetration. After-effects reported included despair (46.5%), fear of reoccurrence of the incident (52.8%), dis- trust of others (36.8%), difficulty sleeping (32.7%), negative expectations about the future (32.1%), and self-blame (31.1%). Nurses have crucial roles and functions in the protection, improvement, treatment, and rehabilitation of the health of children who have been sexually abused. [Journal of Psycho- social Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56(2), 37-43.] Emotional and Psychosocial Problems Encountered by Children Who Have Been Sexually Abused Şerife Tutar Güven, RN; Ayşegül İşler Dalgiç, PhD, RN; and Zerrin Erkol, MD & Seshadri, 2016). Sexual abuse perpetrated on children and adoles- cents is a problem throughout the world (Csorba, Tsikouras, Lampé, & Póka, 2012; Hockenberry, Wilson, & Rodgers, 2016; Murray, Nguyen, & Cohen, 2014; Papalia, Luebbers, Ogloff, Cutajar, & Mullen, 2017; Sabella, 2016; Singh, Parsekar, & Nair, 2014). It is estimated that approximately one in 10 children are subject to some form of sexual abuse, including physical contact, before age 8 (Townsend & Rhein- gold, 2013). Prevalence of sexual abuse in most countries has been confirmed by an international review that reported a prevalence rate of 8% to 31% for female vic- tims and 3% to 17% for male vic- tims (Barth, Bermetz, Heim, Trelle, & Tonia, 2013). Contrary to what is C hild sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he/she does not fully comprehend and is unable to provide informed consent, or for which the child is not developmentally pre- pared or that violates the laws or social taboos of society (Sowmya Bhaskaran 37 JOURNAL OF PSYCHOSOCIAL NURSING • VOL. 56, NO. 2, 2018 CNE Earn Contact Hours