Sexual abuse in adolescents--data from a psychiatric treatment centre for adolescents

To determine the prevalence of sexual abuse in a large sample of adolescent psychiatric patients and to compare sexually abused patients with non sexually abused patients, the latter category including non-sexual physically abused and non-abused patients.

A retrospective analysis of the patient records at the William Slater Centre for Adolescents, University of Cape Town Medical School/Groote Schuur Hospital.

The William Slater Centre (WSC) is an outpatient psychiatric treatment centre for adolescents with emotional and behavioural problems.

Nine hundred and thirty-four adolescent and young adult patients referred to the WSC in Cape Town from February 1990 to April 1997.

The WSC Assessment form, a semi-structured interview schedule, was used to focus on depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation and parasuicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, psychosexual history, sexual abuse and physical abuse, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual i.v. diagnosis.

One-third of all patients admitted to the centre from February 1990 to April 1997 reported some form of sexual abuse. More sexually abused patients than expected received a diagnosis of depression. On average sexually abused patients scored higher on depression rating scales than non sexually abused patients. Logistic regression showed that the presence of suicidal symptoms and alcohol use are to some extent independently associated with sexual abuse.

The problem of sexual abuse among South African youth is confirmed by this study. The association between sexual abuse and depression, suicidal symptoms and alcohol use is supported. The country's dwindling psychiatric services therefore face an increasingly challenging future.