Abstract
Objective:
We aimed to investigate suicidal thoughts and behavior in a sample of sexually abused adolescents that were admitted to Child Advocacy Center with respect to their sociodemographic features, depressive symptoms, hopelessness and self-esteem , in order to determine predictors of suicidal thoughts and behavior among adolescent victims of sexual abuse.
Method:
Sociodemographic data of sexually abused adolescents who were between 14- 18 years of age and had been admitted to Izmir Child Advocacy Center between the dates August 01, 2016- January 31, 2017, were recorded. All participants were asked to fi ll up Suicidal Behavior Evaluation Form (SBEF), Beck Hopelessness Inventory (BHI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Coopersmith’s Self-esteem Inventory (CSI).
Results:
Of all sexually abused adolescents, 26.6% didn’t have any suicidalthoughts or behavior, while the remaining 73.4% did. Being raised by a single parent, lowermaternal education levels, having dropped out of school , living in rural parts of the city, being the middle child of the family, having high BHI and BDI scores, whilescoring low on CSI were evaluated to predict increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior, among sexually abused adolescents.
Discussion:
Results of our study showed that some sociodemographic features might create certain effects on suicidal thoughts and behavior among sexually abused adolescents. Moreover, it would indeed be safe to conclude, multidimensional evaluations via instruments such as BHI, BDI and CSI are effi cient tools with many benefi ts, to determine fatal consequences of sexual abuse, namely suicidal behavior.
Keywords: Child advocacy center, sexual abuse, adolescent, suicide
