Sintomatología disociativa y características de las experiencias de abuso sexual en adolescentes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between the dissociative symptoms reported by minors and certain characteristics of the sexual abuse they suffered, such as the age of onset of the abuse, its frequency and severity, the use or non-use of violence, the presence of a history of polyvictimization, and the relationship of the offender to the victim. The sample was made up of 73 victims of sexual abuse (23% of which were male), with an average age of 14.47 years. All participants were receiving psychotherapeutic treatment as outpatients. The assessment was performed using the following instruments: sociodemographic data record sheets, the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale, A-DES (Armstrong, Putnam, Carlson, Libero, y Smith, 1997), and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children, TSCC (Briere, 1996). The results showed significant dissociative symptomatology in 10-20% of the abused minors. This symptomatology was significantly higher in those victims of sexual abuse with a previous history of polyvictimization than in those who only reported having been victims of sexual abuse. The minors on whom the abuse was inflicted through the use of violence tended to manifest more dissociative symptoms (i.e., dissociation in relationships and dissociative identity) than those who didn't suffer such violence. The practical implications of these results are discussed.