Incidence of Self-Esteem Among Children Exposed to Sexual Abuse in Kenya

It has been established that sexual abuse against children is a global problem and quite widespread. Sexual abuse against children is a public health concern given that its outcomes are not only detrimental to the health of children, but also to the health of their families and society. Often, poor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global social welfare : research, policy & practice policy & practice, 2018-03, Vol.5 (1), p.39-47
Main Authors: Mutavi, Teresia, Obondo, Anne, Mathai, Muthoni, Kokonya, Donald, Dako-Gyeke, Mavis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude change
Child abuse & neglect
Child development
Child psychology
Child sexual abuse
Children
Community and Environmental Psychology
Families & family life
Health problems
Medical personnel
Medicine
Mental disorders
Mental health
Mental health services
Parents & parenting
Public Health
Research design
Self esteem
Sex crimes
Social Policy
Social Sciences
Social Work
Teaching
Victims
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Summary:It has been established that sexual abuse against children is a global problem and quite widespread. Sexual abuse against children is a public health concern given that its outcomes are not only detrimental to the health of children, but also to the health of their families and society. Often, poor mental health functioning among children is identified late and in very low numbers by health professionals. In view of the fact that children exposed to sexual abuse are one group in Sub-Saharan Africa that exhibits serious mental health problems, this article examined self-esteem among children exposed to sexual abuse in Kenya. The study used data collected between June 2015 and July 2016 from 191 children and their legal parents/guardians. Specifically, the study adopted a longitudinal research design. Children who had experienced sexual abuse and their parents/legal guardians were followed up for a period of 1 year and interviewed at 4-month intervals. Participants were recruited from the Kenyatta National Teaching and Referral Hospital and Nairobi Women’s Hospital in Kenya. Findings indicated that low and average self-esteem was significantly associated with frequency of abuse ( p  
ISSN:2196-8799
2196-8799
DOI:10.1007/s40609-017-0107-3