Abuse Characteristics and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Child and Adolescents Victims of Sexual Abuse: A Preliminary Investigation

Research Article

Ann Depress Anxiety. 2014;1(4): 1020.

Abuse Characteristics and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Child and Adolescents Victims of Sexual Abuse: A Preliminary Investigation

Giuseppe Scimeca, Maria Anna Ventimiglia, Antonio Bruno, Gianluca Pandolfo, Claudio Cicciarelli, Rocco Zoccali and Maria RA Muscatello

Department of Neurosciences, University of Messina, Italy

*Corresponding author: Giuseppe Scimeca, Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, University of Messina, Italy, Policlinico di Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, Messina I-98125, Italy

Received: Aug 22, 2014; Accepted: Aug 17, 2014; Published: Aug 18, 2014

Abstract

This pilot study reports the preliminary results of an ongoing research addressing the psychological assessment of traumatized children and adolescents in forensic settings. Specifically, prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was assessed in a sample of 26 Italian children and adolescents alleged sexual abuse victims (14 males, 12 females; mean age, 13.34 ± 2.48 years; range, 6-17 years). The association between PTSD and the following Characteristics of Sexual Abuse (CSA) were explored: typology and severity of sexual abuse, duration and frequency of acts, perpetrator relationship, and form of coercion. Participants were administered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Statement Validity Analysis, and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. The rate of PTSD was 26.9%. PTSD was associated with type of act and form of coercion. No associations were found between PTSD and duration of abuse, frequency of abuse, and perpetrator relationship. Preliminary results of the study suggest that the development of PTSD was associated with the type of sexual abuse (oral, anal, or vaginal violent penetration), regardless of the nature of the relationship with the perpetrator and the frequency/duration of the acts. Such results are consistent with previous data suggesting that the painful experience of the sexual abuse per se is a traumatogenic factor.

Keywords: Sexual abuse; Trauma; Violence; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Childhood; Adolescence

Introduction

The association between sexual abuse and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a well-established finding. The occurrence of sexual traumatic events is associated with the development of the core psychopathological symptoms of PTSD: re-experiencing the event, avoidance of traumatic event-related stimuli, and hyper arousal [1- 5]. The rate of PTSD among children and adolescent victims of sexual abuse has been estimated up to 38.5 % in nonclinical samples [6], 48.9 % in forensic samples [4], and 88 % in clinical samples [7].

Some studies attempted to identify Characteristics of Sexual Abuse (CSA) associated with PTSD in samples of children and adolescents. Examining a forensic sample of children and adolescents(mean age 12.4 years), Wolfe et al [4] found that PTSD was associated with duration of abuse and use of coercion, but not with frequency of abuse, type of act, and relationship with the offender. Lawyer et al [8] in a large nationally representative sample of adolescents aged 12-17 years found that the victims who had been sexually abused by nonstrangers were at increased risk for developing PTSD. In a sample of 31 sexually abused children, assaults made by father or father figures resulted more easily associated with PTSD [2]. McLean et al. [9] found that CSA such as trauma type, relationship to the accused, and duration of abuse were not associated with PTSD severity in a sample of adolescents seeking treatment for PTSD.

The present study reports the preliminary results of an ongoing research addressing the psychological assessment of traumatized children and adolescents in forensic settings. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to further investigate the prevalence of PTSD via semi-structured clinical interview. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies that have assessed PTSD with standardized methods in alleged sexual abuse victims. The association between PTSD and the following CSA were also explored: typology and severity of sexual abuse, duration and frequency of acts, perpetrator relationship, and form of coercion.

Materials and Methods

The study was performed on 26 children and adolescents from the Courts of Palermo and Termini Immerse (Italy) alleged sexual abuse victims (14 males, 12 females; mean age, 13.34 ± 2.48 years; range, 6-17 years). The inclusion criteria were: sexual assault, and age ranging between 6 and 18 (Table 1). Assessment procedure was initially conducted by one of the authors, who served as an eyewitness expert for these allegations (Giuseppe Scimeca); protocols were subsequently recoded by the other authors under blind conditions. Participants were administered a sociodemographic questionnaire; the Statement Validity Analysis [10] was conducted to retrieve information about the characteristics of sexual abuse (Table 1). Allegations of sexual abuse were not taken into consideration unless they passed the screening for credibility as accessed via the Criteria- Based Content Analysis [11]. Diagnosis of PTSD was determined using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) [12]. The study was approved by the review board of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Messina. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS for Windows 16.0.

Citation: Scimeca G, Ventimiglia MA, Bruno A, Pandolfo G, Cicciarelli C, Zoccali R and Muscatello MRA. Abuse Characteristics and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Child and Adolescents Victims of Sexual Abuse: A Preliminary Investigation. Ann Depress Anxiety. 2014;1(4): 1020. ISSN:2381-8883