TY - JOUR
T1 - Characteristic and psychosocial consequences of sexually abused children referred to a tertiary care facility in Oman
T2 - Sentinel study
AU - Alshekaili, Muna
AU - Alkalbani, Yahya
AU - Hassan, Walid
AU - Alsulimani, Fatima
AU - Alkasbi, Salim
AU - Chan, Moon Fai
AU - Al-Adawi, Samir
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was granted ethical approval from the Ministry of Health (MH/DGPS/MG117). Participants were requested to provide written informed consent and was carried out in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for human experiments. 5
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019
PY - 2020/1
Y1 - 2020/1
N2 - Background: Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) has been reported from different parts of the world. With regard to countries in the Arabian Gulf, there have been some anecdotal and impressionistic observations of CSA and Oman is no exception. Aims: In order to lay the groundwork for empirical scrutiny of this phenomena, the present study elaborates on the description of the CSA along with exploring the socio-demographic and psychosocial consequences among children with a history of sexual abuse referred to a tertiary care center providing mental services catering to the needs of children and adolescents mental health services (CAMHS). Method: 34 children referred for a one-year period to the CAMHS fulfilled the criteria for inclusion of the study. Socio-demographic, CSA, and psychosocial information were collected for each subject. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore which variables associated with children having depressive symptoms. Result: Majority of children abused were female (64.7%, n = 22), age below 12 years (67.6%, n = 23), and with low family income (85.3%, n = 29). Multivariate analysis shows that CSA and psychological variables were significant risk factors for depression. Children who were penetrative abused were more likely (OR = 24.897, p = 0.044) to have depression than non-penetrative children. Children who reported problems with sleep-wake cycles (OR = 44.636, p = 0.012) were more likely to occurrence of depressive symptoms than children who reported no such problem. Conclusion: The patterns of CSA and its consequences in Oman appears to echo the trends from other parts of the world. As the country is becoming increasingly aware of the international best practice towards CSA, this study will serve as a milestone for more studies in the area using robust methodology.
AB - Background: Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) has been reported from different parts of the world. With regard to countries in the Arabian Gulf, there have been some anecdotal and impressionistic observations of CSA and Oman is no exception. Aims: In order to lay the groundwork for empirical scrutiny of this phenomena, the present study elaborates on the description of the CSA along with exploring the socio-demographic and psychosocial consequences among children with a history of sexual abuse referred to a tertiary care center providing mental services catering to the needs of children and adolescents mental health services (CAMHS). Method: 34 children referred for a one-year period to the CAMHS fulfilled the criteria for inclusion of the study. Socio-demographic, CSA, and psychosocial information were collected for each subject. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore which variables associated with children having depressive symptoms. Result: Majority of children abused were female (64.7%, n = 22), age below 12 years (67.6%, n = 23), and with low family income (85.3%, n = 29). Multivariate analysis shows that CSA and psychological variables were significant risk factors for depression. Children who were penetrative abused were more likely (OR = 24.897, p = 0.044) to have depression than non-penetrative children. Children who reported problems with sleep-wake cycles (OR = 44.636, p = 0.012) were more likely to occurrence of depressive symptoms than children who reported no such problem. Conclusion: The patterns of CSA and its consequences in Oman appears to echo the trends from other parts of the world. As the country is becoming increasingly aware of the international best practice towards CSA, this study will serve as a milestone for more studies in the area using robust methodology.
KW - Child sexual abuse
KW - Consequences
KW - Depression
KW - Oman
KW - Psychology
KW - Psychosocial factors
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U2 - 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e03150
DO - 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e03150
M3 - Article
C2 - 32042947
AN - SCOPUS:85077345301
SN - 2405-8440
VL - 6
JO - Heliyon
JF - Heliyon
IS - 1
M1 - e03150
ER -