Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Factors Associated with Severity in Sexually Abused Adolescents
ntroduction: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most extensively documented comorbid psychiatric condition among children and adolescents who have been sexually abused. However, the literature on PTSD severity and its associated factors in this population remains scarce, and existing studies have several methodological limitations. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of PTSD severity among sexually abused adolescents.Methods: We enrolled 164 sexually abused adolescents aged 12–18 years (149 girls and 15 boys) who were referred for forensic psychiatric assessment. Each participant underwent a clinical interview with a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric diagnoses, and abuse-related variables were systematically recorded, and all participants completed the Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (CPTSD-RI).Results: PTSD was diagnosed in 43.9% (n = 72) of the participants according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria. CPTSD-RI scores were significantly higher in females than males (p = 0.001) and in cigarette (p = 0.010) and alcohol (p = 0.004) users compared with nonusers. Contact (p = 0.044) and penetrating (p < 0.001) abuses had higher CPTSD-RI scores than noncontact and nonpenetrating abuses, respectively. Adolescents exposed to physical force and violence during abuse had significantly higher scores (p < 0.001), whereas the presence of another victim was associated with lower CPTSD-RI scores (p = 0.002).Discussion and Conclusion: Clinicians working with sexually abused adolescents should carefully assess the factors associated with greater PTSD severity, including female sex, alcohol and tobacco use, contact and penetrative abuse, the presence of physical force or violence during the abuse, and the absence of additional co-victims.