Clarke, V;
Goddard, A;
Wellings, K;
Hirve, R;
Casanovas, M;
Bewley, S;
Viner, R;
... Khadr, S; + view all
(2021)
Medium-term health and social outcomes in adolescents following sexual assault: a prospective mixed-methods cohort study.
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
10.1007/s00127-021-02127-4.
(In press).
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Abstract
PURPOSE: To describe medium-term physical and mental health and social outcomes following adolescent sexual assault, and examine users’ perceived needs and experiences. METHOD: Longitudinal, mixed methods cohort study of adolescents aged 13–17 years recruited within 6 weeks of sexual assault (study entry) and followed to study end, 13–15 months post-assault. RESULTS: 75/141 participants were followed to study end (53% retention; 71 females) and 19 completed an in-depth qualitative interview. Despite many participants accessing support services, 54%, 59% and 72% remained at risk for depressive, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders 13–15 months post-assault. Physical symptoms were reported more frequently. Persistent (> 30 days) absence from school doubled between study entry and end, from 22 to 47%. Enduring mental ill-health and disengagement from education/employment were associated with psychosocial risk factors rather than assault characteristics. Qualitative data suggested inter-relationships between mental ill-health, physical health problems and disengagement from school, and poor understanding from schools regarding how to support young people post-assault. Baseline levels of smoking, alcohol and ever drug use were high and increased during the study period (only significantly for alcohol use). CONCLUSION: Adolescents presenting after sexual assault have high levels of vulnerability over a year post-assault. Many remain at risk for mental health disorders, highlighting the need for specialist intervention and ongoing support. A key concern for young people is disruption to their education. Multi-faceted support is needed to prevent social exclusion and further widening of health inequalities in this population, and to support young people in their immediate and long-term recovery.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Medium-term health and social outcomes in adolescents following sexual assault: a prospective mixed-methods cohort study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00127-021-02127-4 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02127-4 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Adolescent, Rape, Sexual assault, Mental health, Education, Longitudinal cohort study |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10140183 |
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