Symptoms and Psychopathology Pictures Identified in Forensic Evaluations of Sexual Abuse in Childhood and Adolescence

Authors

  • Lara Lages Gava Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
  • Doralúcia Gil da Silva Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
  • Débora Dalbosco Dell' Aglio Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Keywords:

Sexual abuse, symptoms, psychopathology, psychological expertise, psychiatric expertise, forensic evaluation.

Abstract

This study investigated, in the context of forensic evaluation, the symptomatology and psychopathology identified in child and adolescent victims of alleged sexual abuse. For this purpose, 674 reports of psychological and psychiatric forensic evaluations from the Department of Legal Medicine of Rio Grande do Sul were analyzed. The alleged victims were aged between seven and 19 years old (M = 11.7; SD = 2.88), 82.8% were girls and 66.9% of the abuses were intra-familial. The variables age, sex and type of abuse (intra or extra-familial) were associated with the symptomatology and psychopathology identified in the reports. We concluded that, although there is no single symptomatology framework in victims of sexual abuse, some symptoms have greater prevalence according to age, sex and type of abuse. Therefore, these symptoms should be observed in the forensic psychological evaluation.

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Author Biographies

Lara Lages Gava, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Lara Lages Gava é Psicóloga pela Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Mestre em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS e Doutoranda em Psicologia nesta mesma instituição. É funcionária do Instituto Geral de Perícias do Rio Grande do Sul, onde exerce o cargo de Perita Criminal/Psicóloga, atuando na realização de avaliações psicológicas investigativas em casos de suspeita de abuso sexual cometido contra crianças e adolescentes. Integrante do Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Adolescência – NEPA UFRGS.

Doralúcia Gil da Silva, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Doralúcia Gil da Silva é graduanda em Psicologia pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.

Débora Dalbosco Dell' Aglio, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Débora Dalbosco Dell’Aglio é Psicóloga pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul - PUCRS, Mestre e Doutora em Psicologia do Desenvolvimento pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS. É docente do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia da UFRGS, orientadora de mestrado e doutorado e coordenadora do Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Adolescência – NEPA/UFRGS.

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Published

2013-07-19

How to Cite

Gava, L. L., da Silva, D. G., & Dell’ Aglio, D. D. (2013). Symptoms and Psychopathology Pictures Identified in Forensic Evaluations of Sexual Abuse in Childhood and Adolescence. Psico, 44(2). Retrieved from https://revistaseletronicas.pucrs.br/ojs/index.php/revistapsico/article/view/11467

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 2 (2013)

Section

Articles

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