The relationship of trauma to mental disorders among trafficked and sexually exploited girls and women

Md Saddam Hossain (), C. Zimmerman, M. Abas, M. Light and C. Watts

American Journal of Public Health, 2010, vol. 100, issue 12, 2442-2449

Abstract: Objectives.We explored the association between traumatic events andmental health among girls and women traf?cked for sexual exploitation. Methods. We used subscales of the Brief Symptom Inventory and Harvard Trauma Questionnaire to interview 204 traf?cked girls and women in 7 post-traf?cking service settings. Multivariate logistic regression models based on interview data were ?tted for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) separately and adjusted for pretraf?cking abuse to determine impact of traf?cking-related trauma exposures. Results. Injuries and sexual violence during traf?cking were associated with higher levels of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Sexual violence was associated with higher levels of PTSD (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=5.6; 95% con?dence interval [CI]=1.3, 25.4).More time in traf?cking was associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety (AOR=2.2; 95% CI=1.1, 4.5). More time since traf?cking was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety but not of PTSD. Conclusions. Our ?ndings inform the emerging ?eld of mental health care for traf?cked persons by highlighting the importance of assessing severity and duration of traf?cking-related abuses and need for adequate recovery time. Therapies for anxiety, PTSD, and mood disorders in low-resource settings should be evaluated.

Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2009.173229_2

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.173229

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