Examining sexual abuse experienced in childhood and adolescence and its impact on women over age 18

6^th World Nursing and Healthcare Conference

August 15-17, 2016 London, UK

Kader Mert and Sena Dilek Aksoy

Kocaeli University, Turkey

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Aim: This is a multidimensional examination of the types of sexual abuse women over the age of 18 were exposed to in childhood and adolescence and how this has affected their lives. Materials & Method: This is a descriptive study and was conducted over the period June 2015 - November 2015 with 12 individuals willing to participate in the research. The snowball sampling method was used in this study. The data were collected with a semistructured questionnaire and with individual in-depth interviews. Content analysis was used in the evaluation of the data. Results: The mean age of the women in the study was 33.37�±11.72 and most of them were university graduates, married and employed. While the participants who had experienced sexual abuse when they were 6-8 years old (n:10) had been fondled, those that had experienced sexual abuse at the ages 12-14 (n:2) had been raped. The effects of sexual abuse have been examined under 6 themes: the individual, academic life, marriage, sexuality, the family, and society. The effects of sexual abuse on the individual are feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, regret, disappointment, lack of self-confidence, introversion, paranoia, fear, the desire to harm oneself, despair, not being able to live oneâ��s childhood, anxiety about the future, the will to be strong; the effects of sexual abuse on academic life are dropping out of school, changing schools; the effects of sexual abuse on marriage is marrying unwillingly, fear of divorce, lack of trust in oneâ��s husband; the effects on sexuality are disgust, fear, embarrassment; the effects regarding oneâ��s own family are anger felt toward the family, blaming the family, being shamed before the family, hiding from the family, desire to avoid harming family members; the effects on society are feelings of insignificance, fear of being labeled and mistrust of society. Conclusion: The effects of sexual abuse suffered during childhood and adolescence continue throughout life in many dimensions.

Biography :

Kader Mert has completed her PhD from Commnuity Health Nursing Department in Marmara University. She has been working as a Assistant Professor in Community Health Nursing Department at Kocaeli University for 2 years. She has published 6 articles in international and national journals, 6 oral/poster international presentations and 18 national oral/poster presentations. She has 2 book sections in national books. She is interested in vulnerable children. Her Master’s thesis is about school health nursing interventions and PhD thesis is about children working on the street.

Email: kgurbuz@kocaeli.edu.tr