Characteristics of sexual aggressions among women benefiting from the depression therapy program of a primary care outpatient clinic

Abstract

Sexual aggressions suffered during childhood are a psychological risk factor for the development of psychopathologies during adulthood. The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence and characteristics of sexual aggressions suffered during childhood by women beneficiary of the depression therapy program from the primary care outpatient clinic of the Vitacura commune in Santiago, Chile. Twenty-nine (29) program beneficiary women were interviewed following a data collection guideline that assessed the characteristics of sexual aggressions suffered during childhood. The Hamilton rating scale for depression was applied to all individuals. The prevalence of sexual aggressions during childhood among female adults undergoing an episode of depression was close to 25%, a figure that is within the range established by larger scale retrospective research.

The high degree of trauma among the individuals of the study sample was striking, thus indicating a tendency towards a neurobiological vulnerability to develop mental health morbid conditions in adulthood.