TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Post-traumatic stress disorder and related factors among female victims of sexual assault required to attend a university hospital in Turkey: a cross-sectional cohort study
JO  - Criminal behaviour and mental health
A1  - Karataş, Reyhan Dağ
A1  - Altınöz, Ali Ercan
A1  - Eşsizoğlu, Altan
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common consequences of sexual assault, but it is not invariable. <br><br>AIM: Our aim was to investigate pre-, peri- and post-traumatic factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder among adult women who had been sexually assaulted. <br><br>METHODS: All women attending a specialist university clinic for victims of sexual assault referred by the courts for a mental health assessment were invited to participate. At the time, the Turkish penal code required such referral (the year up to September 2015). Consenting women completed a sociodemographic information form, the Traumatic Stress Symptom Checklist, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Short Form-36 reflecting perceived quality of life, the Beck Depression Scale and the Beck Anxiety Scale. <br><br>RESULTS: Sixty women were eligible and agreed to participate. Two-thirds of them (41, 68%) reported features of PTSD. In bivariate analyses, the women with PTSD also rated themselves as having a wide range of health and social disadvantages. Self-perceived poverty of social support and having suicidal thoughts were independently associated with PTSD. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Although the rate of mental health and social problems among the women with PTSD were high, less than a third had actually sought help for their difficulties. While a requirement in the penal code that such women should have a psychiatric assessment seems over-intrusive and has since been dropped, our findings suggest that more efforts should be made to ensure that such women have help available if they want it.<br><br>© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0957-9664
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cbm.2145
ID  - ref1
ER  -