Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social interactions and behavior. The number of children and adolescents with ASD treated in mental health services has been growing in recent years. Knowing clinical and familial characteristics of hospitalized patients with ASD and multidisciplinary approach are crucial for children and adolescents mental health professionals. In this study, 253 Turkish children and adolescents, with and without ASD, treated in psychiatry inpatient care unit were examined. Applied approaches such as medical consultation areas, psychiatric management of mothers, and pharmacological treatment during hospitalization, were studied. In addition to familial and clinical characteristics of patients with ASD, the benefits and the hospitalization conditions were evaluated. Patients with ASD showed a higher tendency on having relatives with a psychiatric disorder than the patients without ASD. A significant difference was found in terms of age, sex, and intellectual functioning, whereas length of stay did not differ drastically. Also, suicide attempts were significantly higher in patients without ASD than in patients with ASD. This study eases the management of hospitalized ASD patients with giving important information of clinical and familial characteristics.
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric diagnoses and factors associated with psychiatric diagnoses of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse. Method: The files of 92 children and adolescents aged between 0-18 who were referred to University Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Forensic Policlinic between January 2017 and December 2019 due to sexual abuse were evaluated retrospectively. Psychiatric diagnoses of the cases were made according to DSM 5 diagnostic criteria. Intellectual capacity of the cases was evaluated according to the latest verison of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Results: In our study, 78 (84.8%) cases were female and 14 (15.2%) were male. Mean age of the cases was 14.1±3.88 years. The most common type of sexual abuse was touching (52.2%, n=48). There was a psychiatric diagnose in 50 (54.3%) of them. The most common psychiatric diagnoses were posttraumatic stress disorder (n=29, 31.5%) and major depressive disorder (n=25, 27.2%). The rate of psychiatric diagnosis was significantly higher in cases exposed to coercion and violence (p=0.032). In 32 cases (34.8%), it was determined that the abuser was within the family. Conclusion: Sexual abuse has an effect on child’s development throughout life.In our study, the rate of psychiatric diagnosis was high. It is very important to provide the necessary psychiatric support to the victims of sexual abuse. With the studies to be done in this area, awareness can be increased and necessary precautions can be taken.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.