Although sibling sexual abuse (SSA) is one of the most common forms of sexual abuse, it has been particularly neglected in previous research. Hence, characteristics of this form of abuse and its longer term implications are not well understood. The aims of the current review were to precisely characterize the phenomenon of SSA and to condense the implications known to date of SSA on survivors. We included 15 studies with a total sample size of 14,680 individuals. Our results indicate that SSA has some unequivocal features such as an early onset, an extended duration and frequency, and a particularly high intensity (i.e., involvement of coercion, force, superiority, and manipulation). Our findings also revealed that SSA is linked to later depression, anxiety, impaired self-esteem, and sexual functioning. The findings of the current review suggest that (1) SSA is common, (2) SSA has various negative effects on survivors’ mental health, and that (3) SSA and its implications have been and to date are marginalized in research and practice. Results are discussed with a special focus on clinical implications.

尽管同胞性虐待 (SSA) 是最常见的性虐待形式之一，但在以往的研究中尤其被忽视。因此，这种滥用形式的特征及其长期影响还没有得到很好的理解。当前审查的目的是准确描述 SSA 现象，并浓缩迄今为止已知的 SSA 对幸存者的影响。我们纳入了 15 项研究，总样本量为 14,680 人。我们的结果表明，SSA 具有一些明确的特征，例如早发、延长的持续时间和频率，以及特别高的强度（即涉及胁迫、武力、优势和操纵）。我们的研究结果还表明，SSA 与后来的抑郁、焦虑、自尊受损和性功能受损有关。当前审查的结果表明：(1) SSA 很常见，(2) SSA 对幸存者的心理健康有各种负面影响，并且 (3) SSA 及其影响在研究和实践中一直被边缘化。讨论结果时特别关注临床意义。