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Characteristics of Sexual Abuse in a Sample of Turkish Children With and Without Mental Retardation, Referred for Legal Appraisal of the Psychological Repercussions

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Abstract

Between having mental retardation (MR) and typically growing (TG) sexually abused children, we aimed to explore the differential features in terms of sexual abuse history and psychiatric consequences. The 7–16 year-old age and sex matched children (MR, n:20; TG, n:20) who were sexually abused between January 2005 and February 2009 were included. Mental capacity was assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). A comprehensive physical examination and where indicated anal-vaginal examination were conducted by a forensic medicine specialist in all children. A child psychiatry specialist investigated the abuse history. Compared to the TG group, significantly more children in the MR group were exposed to vaginal penetration, had more positive signs during anal-vaginal examination, and more were abused by relatives. Among all children who were sexually abused, compared to the typically growing children, children with MR were abused in more violent ways and more by their relatives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, 55139, Kurupelit, Samsun, Turkey

    Seher Akbaş & Koray Karabekiroğlu

  2. Department of Forensic Medicine School of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey

    Ahmet Turla

  3. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey

    Ozan Pazvantoğlu & Omer Böke

  4. Department of Mentally Diasbled Childreen Center, School of medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey

    Tülay Keskin

Authors
  1. Seher Akbaş
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  2. Ahmet Turla
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  3. Koray Karabekiroğlu
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  4. Ozan Pazvantoğlu
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  5. Tülay Keskin
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  6. Omer Böke
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Correspondence to Seher Akbaş.

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Akbaş, S., Turla, A., Karabekiroğlu, K. et al. Characteristics of Sexual Abuse in a Sample of Turkish Children With and Without Mental Retardation, Referred for Legal Appraisal of the Psychological Repercussions. Sex Disabil 27, 205–213 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-009-9139-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-009-9139-7

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