Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of sexually abused children and adolescents cases living in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region

Abstract

ÖZETAmaç: Çalışmamızda cinsel istismar mağduru çocuk ve ergenlerin sosyodemografik özellikleri, istismar sonrası gelişen ruhsal tanıları, istismar süresi, istismar sıklığı, cinsel istismar ve istismarcı ile ilişkili özellikleri incelemesi amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem:Van adliyesi adli tıp şubesinde 01.01.2010 ile 30.06.2015 tarihleri arasında bilirkişi adli heyet raporu düzenlenmesi amacıyla yönlendirilen adli olguların (n=90) bilgileri geriye dönük olarak incelenmiştir. Genel fizik muayenesi adli tıp uzmanları tarafından yapıldı. Hasta ve ebeveynleri ile psikiyatrik görüşme çocuk ve ergen ruh sağlığı ve hastalıkları uzmanı ve yetişkin psikiyatri uzmanı tarafından yapılmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmamız 4 ile 18 yaş aralığında (11,9±4,02) değişen 60 (%66,7) kız ve 30 (%33,3) erkek olmak üzere toplam 90 çocuk ve ergen mağdurlardan oluşmaktadır. En sık bildirilen cinsel istismar tipi kızlarda %48,3 ile vajinal penetrasyon, erkeklerde %90 ile anal penetrasyon olduğu belirlendi. Olguların %31,1'i (n=28) birden fazla cinsel istismara maruz kaldığını, %5,6'si (n=5) birden fazla istismarcının olduğu ve 12,2'sinin (n=11) de bir yıldan daha uzun süre cinsel istismara maruz kaldığı bulunmuştur. Olguların %64,4'inde (n=58) istismarcının tanıdık biri ve %21,1'ünde (n=19) aileden biri olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Çocuk ve ergenlerin %28,9'ında (n=26) travma sonrası stres bozukluğu (TSSB), %5,6'sında (n=5) akut stres bozukluğu (ASB), %8,9'inde (n=8) major depresif bozukluk (MDB) tespit edilmiştir.Sonuç: Cinsel istismar mağdurlarında başta TSSB olmak üzere psikopatoloji gelişme riskinin artığını göstermektedir. Kız cinsiyet ve ilköğretim çağında ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic features of sexually abused children and adolescents who were sent for forensic evaluation, besides that psychopathologies developing after the abuse. Materials and Methods:Ninety child and adolescents who were admitted to Van judicial branch of forensic medicine units for forensic evaluation due to sexual abuse have been enrolled to the study between 01.01.2010 and 30.06.2015 retrospectively. General physical examination was carried out by forensic experts. The clinical interviews were conducted by two expert psychiatrists.Results: Our study consists of 60 (66,7%) girls and 30 (33,3%) boys aged between 4 and 18 years (11,9±4,02) old. The most frequently reported sexual abuse type was vaginal penetration in girls (48,3%) and anal penetration in boys (90%). It was found that 12,2 % (n=11) of victims were exposed to sexual abuse longer than a year, 31,1% (n=28) of victims were exposed more than one sexual abuse and 5,6% (n=5) of victims were abused by more than one abuser. Concerning the abusers; 64,4% (n=58) were familiar and 21,1% (n=19) were among family members. 28,9% (n=26) of the child and adolescents were diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, 8,9% (n=8) Major Depressive Disorder and 5,6% (n=5) Acute Stress Disorder. Conclusion:It has been found that female gender and primary education level are high...

A Retrospective Study on Sexual Assault - Abuse Cases

“…In Turkey, it is known that victims of sexual abuse are mostly in the primary or secondary school age or illiterate (17,19). Yıldırım et al investigated a total of 109 cases and reported that seven (6.4%) cases were illiterate, 26 cases (23.9%) were primary school, 55 cases (50.5%) were secondary school, and 21 cases (19.3%) were higher education graduates (16).…”

“…In studies examining the way the sexual act occurred, it was determined that the most common type of sexual abuse reported in girls was vaginal penetration, and in boys anal penetration (19). In a study performed in India involving 40 victims of sexual abuse under the age of 16, vaginal penetration (55%) was reported as the most common type of sexual abuse (20).…”

“…Gençoğlan et al reported that 12.2% of the cases were exposed intermittently to sexual abuse for 1 year or longer, 8.9% within 1 month -1 year, and 1.1% within 1 week -1 month (19). In this study, when the duration of exposure to the sexual act of the victims was examined; there was no information about one case, and while 96 (64.8%) cases were exposed to sexual assault once, 12 (8.1%) cases between 1-30 days, nine (6.1%) cases for 1-3 months, 30 cases (% 20,3) for more than 3 months.…”

“…Bhaskar et al stated that depressive disorders were most prevalently seen in children of sexual abuse (35%) followed by stressrelated such as ASD and PTSD (25%), and that children who have been abused more than once are more likely to suffer from a psychiatric illness after sexual abuse (20). According to the results of a study conducted in Turkey; It was reported that at least one psychiatric illness was detected 45.6% (n=41) of the victims of sexual abuse and the most common mental illness was PTSD with a rate of 28.9% (n=26) (19). Dönmez et al included 215 children and adolescents in their study, and reported that 81.9% of the cases (n=176) had at least one post-abuse mental disorder (PTSD, 33%; ASD, 25.6%; major depressive disorder, 25.1%; conduct disorder, 2.8% (23).…”

“…Magnusson et al determined that 64.9% of 57 pre-school children who were victims of sexual abuse were exposed to abuse several times (35). Gençoğlan et al reported that 31.1%.of their pediatric population was exposed to sexual abuse more than once (19). Demirci et al reported that 157 (57.1%) cases were exposed to sexual abuse once, and 72 (26.2%) cases more than once (15).…”