Psychiatry Disorders and Sociodemographic Profile of the Victims of Assault Attending the Teaching Hospital—Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: According to World Health Organization, proportion of women experiencing either physical or sexual violence ranges between 15% and 17%. In India, one-third of women population in 15 to 49 age group experiences sexual assault at least once in their life, predisposing them to develop psychiatric disorders. Aims and Objectives: To assess prevalence of psychiatry disorders among victims of assault attending tertiary care center. Methodology: It is a retrospective, record-based study which was conducted among 216 victims of assault attending one-stop center. Study was started after obtaining Institutional Ethical Committee clearance and permissions from concerned authorities and confidentiality was maintained throughout the study. Data was analyzed by frequency, proportion, and chi-square tests using SPSS version 16. Results: Out of 216 victims, 50% were physically assaulted and 50% were sexually assaulted. Among 108 sexual assault cases, 81.5% victims were raped, 2.7% were sexually harassed, 1.9% was sexually abused, and 13.9% children were sexually abused. A total of 30.1% had adjustment disorder, 11.6% had dysthymia, 8.3% had mild depression, 5.6% had moderate depression, 0.5% had obsessive-compulsive disorder, 0.5% had psychosis, and 43.5% did not have any psychiatry disorder. Conclusion: Majority of the sexually assaulted victims belonged to age group 16 to 20 years and had adjustment disorder, whereas physically assaulted victims belonged to age group above 36 years and had dysthymia and depression. Special services like medical care, counseling, legal aid, and so on should be provided to victims free of charge. Awareness and sensitization programs should be done through active community participation for the welfare of children and women.

Retrospective Chart Analysis of Sexual Assault Victims Referred to Psychiatry OPD

“…Out of those who did, the highest prevalence was that of adjustment disorder, followed by dysthymia, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychosis. 9 The meta-analytic review done by Dworkin et al in 2017 pointed to the increased prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, adjustment disorder, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, suicidality, substance abuse/ dependence, and obsessive-compulsive disorders in victims of sexual assault. This is in accordance with the results of our retrospective chart review.…”