dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder develops following some stressful
events.
There has been increasing recognition that children who have been exposed to
traumatic events like child sexual abuse can develop post-traumatic stress
disorder just like adults.
Objective: To determine prevalence of PTSD in sexually abused children seen
at the Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre at Kenyatta National Hospital.
Research design: A cross sectional descriptive study of the prevalence of PTSD
among the sexually abused children as seen at Gender Based Violence
Recovery Centre at Kenyatta National Hospital.
Study site: Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre – Kenyatta National
Hospital.
Study Population: Sexually abused children seen at the GBVRC-KNH.
Sampling Procedure: Study participants were selected using purposive
sampling
Study Instruments: Socio-demographic Questionnaire, Sexual Abuse Profile,
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder index for DSM-IV, and Art Assessment for
Children.
Data Management and Analysis: Data was analyzed by use of the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.
Results: One hundred and forty-nine (n = 149) sexually abused children were
recruited in the study where by 127 (85.2%) were females. The mean age of the
children was 13.2 years (SD 4.2) and the age at which sexual abuse most
frequently (55%) occurred between 15-17 years. Sixty three percent of children
reported that the perpetrator was known to them, and 76.5% of perpetrators used
verbal or physical force during sexual assault. The prevalence of PTSD among
the sexually abused children was 49% (n = 73). PTSD was significantly
associated with duration of sexual abuse (p = 0.005), severity of injuries
sustained during assault (p = 0.023), parent’s marital status (p = 0.003) and the
family's way of sorting out their disagreements (p < 0.001). Findings from art
assessment of 38 (25.5%) children’s drawings showed emotional disturbance
commonly manifesting as impulsive behavior (10.5%), mixed feelings (10.5%),
and aggression or hostility (7.9%).
Conclusions: This study highlights the high prevalence of PTSD among sexually
abused children. PTSD is associated with the degree of physical or verbal abuse
during sexual abuse, injuries during assault, and parent-child relationships.
These findings are important in formulation of appropriate prevention and care
interventions to be implemented by families and other stakeholders. | en_US |