Psychopathology of Sexually Abused Children In Korea.
- Author:
Tae Kyoung KIM
1
;
So Hyang KIM
;
Kyoung Sook CHOI
;
Ji Young CHOI
;
Ja Young LIM
;
So Yong EOM
;
Yee Jin SHIN
Author Information
1. Sunflower Children Center, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Child sexual abuse;
Psychopathology;
Symptom severity
- MeSH:
Anxiety;
Anxiety Disorders;
Caregivers;
Checklist;
Child Abuse, Sexual;
Child Behavior;
Child*;
Depression;
Depressive Disorder;
Diagnosis;
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders;
Humans;
Korea*;
Mental Health;
Parent-Child Relations;
Parents;
Primary Health Care;
Psychiatry;
Psychology;
Psychopathology*;
Self Report;
Sex Offenses;
Social Workers;
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic;
Weights and Measures
- From:Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
2006;45(2):165-173
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify psychopathologies of sexually abused children and intervening variables of symptom severity. METHODS: Eighty-four school-aged children were identified for sexual abuse from a center for child sexual abuse by psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and social workers. We analyzed correlations among symptom severity, types of sexual abuse, gender, age, relationship with the abuser, family system, and current and past psychopathologies. RESULTS: The percentage of victims with particular psychiatric disorders (current) were 79.8%. Children without identifiable disorders were 20.2%, but these children had significantly increased scores on self report scales of anxiety (RCMAS), depression (CDI), and withdrawal scores on parental reports of child behavior checklist (K-CBCL). Sixty nine percent of abused children had primary diagnosis related to sexual abuse in DSM-IV diagnositic system. PTSD was 41.7%, depressive disorder was 38.1%, and anxiety disorder was 21.4%. Psychopathologies were more severe if perpetrators were of acquaintance or if victims had previous psychopathologies or parent-child relational problems. Types of primary caregiver and older age were also related to the severity of psychopathologies. CONCLUSION: Present study suggests that most victims of childhood sexual abuse suffer from significant psychological distress. Intervening variables are relationship with the perpetrator, previous mental health status, age of the child, type of the primary care taker, and the quality of parent-child relationship.
