Assessment of Psychological Trauma among the Female Adolescents under the Care of One Shelter- Cebu

Abstract

This research study is descriptive and evaluative by nature using two standardized screening instruments- the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL). This is aimed to identify the specific events that have caused trauma on the sixty-two 62 girls under the care of ONE SHELTER-CEBU as well as to assess the impact of these trauma events by identifying the distressing symptoms that they have experienced, with the end in view of coming up with a trauma-informed and responsive intervention plan to help these girls in their healing journey.The study was able to identify the top five trauma events that were commonly experienced, witnessed, and heard about by the girls, as well as the top five symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression that they commonly shared.It was found out in the assessment that only (24.19%) of the girls are symptomatic for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,(59.68%) are symptomatic for Anxiety, and (69.35%) are symptomatic for Depression. By examining the correlation coefficient of the data, it showed that the three scales- Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD are highly correlated, which means that all these three have a comorbidity relationship and they tend to co-exist in an individual either in a duo or trio.In conclusion, majority of the girls in ONE SHELTER-CEBU are still suffering from psychological trauma most especially on their personal experience of sexual abuse in the past as evidenced in their disturbing symptoms, thus, they are really in dire need of an intervention- a professional help.