Associations between posttraumatic stress symptoms and abuse experiences in child and adolescent girls from a Central African country.

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is frequently reported among survivors of abuse. However, there is a paucity of research examining the association between PTSD and abuse, including polyvictimization, in nonconflict areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We aimed to investigate the prevalence and correlates of PTSD among girls in nonconflict zones who experienced at least one type of abuse. Participants in this cross-sectional study were 3,011 middle-school girls, aged 11-18 years, who attended randomly selected schools and completed questionnaires. The probable PTSD prevalence was 67.5%. The rate of probable PTSD increased with the number of experienced abuse types over a 12-month period. The findings demonstrated associations between probable PTSD and exposure to five (86.9%), four (63.9%), and three types of abuse (60.1%). The strongest association was observed between probable PTSD and experiencing five types of abuse, OR = 26.806, 95% CI [19.303, 37.225]; associations were also found between PTSD and abuse with a weapon, OR = 4.341, 95% CI [3.519, 5.354]; rape with penetration, OR = 4.728, 95% CI [3.447, 6.484]; and experiencing three, OR = 6.625, 95% CI [4.325, 10.148], or four types of abuse, OR = 7.114, 95% CI [5.025,10.070]. The findings of this study underscore the importance of the need for psychological and physical health care for girls who have been exposed to abuse, regardless of the number of abuse experiences or abuse types she has experienced.