Psychological evaluation of children victims of sexual abuse: development of a protocol

Natali Maia Marques; Gabriel Okawa Belizario; Cristiana Castanho de Almeida Rocca; Fabiana Saffi; Daniel Martins de Barros; Antonio de Pádua Serafim

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03552

Psychological evaluation of children victims of sexual abuse: development of a protocol

Heliyon. 2020 Mar 18;6(3):e03552. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03552. eCollection 2020 Mar.

Authors

Natali Maia Marques¹, Gabriel Okawa Belizario², Cristiana Castanho de Almeida Rocca³, Fabiana Saffi¹, Daniel Martins de Barros¹, Antonio de Pádua Serafim^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department and Institute of Psychiatry, Forensic Psychology Program, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
² Department and Institute of Psychiatry, Bipolar Disorder Research Program (PROMAN), University of São Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
³ Department and Institute of Psychiatry, Neuropsychology Unit, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Methodist University of São Paulo, São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.

Abstract

Sexual abuse (SA) is associated with significant psychological problems in childhood, making it increasingly important to develop evaluation protocols. This study examined clinical aspects and cognitive measures of 49 children (24 with SA history and 25 controls). It employed a SA assessment questionnaire, clinical evaluations of posttraumatic stress disorder, risk indicators and neuropsychological tests in order to elaborate a specific forensic psychological evaluation protocol for this population. Conflicting couples (80%), separated parents (68%) and parents' alcohol/drug abuse (76%) were revealed as major risk factors. Fathers represented the primary perpetrator (24%). The main cognitive complaint was difficulty concentrating. Regarding the association between clinical and cognitive variables, it was observed that children who were anxious or referred to having fear, difficulties with operational memory and difficulty sleeping, had more trouble performing tasks that required attention and memory (operational, immediate and late). Children with SA history demonstrated inferior performance in visual attention/task switching and memory; with an emphasis in the loss of set in the Wisconsin test. The findings suggest the possibility of a primary attention deficit in children with SA history, possibly influencing the performance of other cognitive functions.

Keywords: Applied psychology; Attention deficit; Child development; Child sexual abuse; Clinical aspects; Clinical psychology; Cognitive performance; Cognitive psychology; Forensic psychology; Health psychology; Mental health; Psychological disorders.