Effects of defilement on children’s psychological wellbeing: a case of children counseled at Embu Provincial General Hospital , Embu County.

Abstract

The purpose of this study to investigate psychological challenges of defilement among children; a case study of the Provincial General Hospital, Embu County.

The study sought to investigate into three objectives which include to determine the nature of Psychological challenges among the defiled children, to investigate the psychological effects among the defiled children and to determine the strategies to be used to deal with the psychological challenges. Interviews were used to find out the psychological challenges these children face. Parents or care givers and the hospital counselor/ psychosocial service provider who attend them were also interviewed. One hundred children who were victims of defilement were interviewed. In addition, thirty parents and caretakers and the hospital counselors/psychologists were interviewed using personally administered questionnaires which were administered by the counselors, clinical officers and the researcher. The findings of the study showed that this study found out that within the months of July 2014 and September 2014, a total of 100 children were reported to have been sexually defiled in Embu County. All the 100 children had psychological challenges from the defilement. Only 32% that is 32 children went through psychosocial support, the remaining 68 children defaulted and were not followed up because there are no laid down ways of follow up. The psychological challenges faced were depression, anxiety, eating disorders, poor self-esteem, somatization, sleep disturbances dissociative and anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, regressive behaviors such as thumb sucking or bedwetting, the strongest indicator of sexual abuse is sexual acting out and inappropriate sexual knowledge and interest. There were those who withdrew from school and social activities and exhibited various learning and behavioral problems including cruelty to animals, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and teenage pregnancy.