Impact of Trauma due to Sexual Violence on Psychopathology and Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted in order to investigate the influence of sexual trauma on the psychopathology and quality of life of children and adolescents in Korea. METHODS: Twenty-seven children and adolescents and their caretakers who visited the Kangwon Sunflower Center participated in a cross-sectional study. Participants completed the Korean version of Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version, Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and Child Health Questionnaire-Parent Form-50 (CHQ-PF-50). Their scores were compared with those of a age and sex-matched control group of 27 healthy children and adolescents. RESULTS: Victims of sexual violence showed higher t score in Withdrawn, Social problems, Delinquent behavior, Externalizing problems, and Total problems in CBCL, compared with control group. In CHQ-PF-50, there were lower scores on Bodily pain/discomfort, Behavior, Mental health, Time impact in parents, and Family activities subscales in victims of sexual violence. While Behavior and Family activities subscale showed negative correlations with Delinquent behavior, Externalizing problems, and Total problems in CBCL. Mental health subscale showed negative correlations with Social problems, Delinquent behavior, Externalizing problems, and Total problems. In addition, Time impact on parent subscale showed a negative association with Delinquent behavior in CBCL. CONCLUSION: The current study provided evidence suggesting that victims of sexual violence had a higher level of psychopathology and lower level of quality of life.