Sexual Abuse in Thai Children: A Qualitative Study
Umaporn Trangkasombat MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
Objective : To understand sexual abuse in the Thai context, the impact of abuse, and the health problems of
abused children.
Material and Method: This is a qualitative research. Sixty substantiated cases of child sexual abuse were
recruited (56 girls and 4 boys). Participants were interviewed with a semistructured interview instrument.
Data were coded and content analysis was done to identify common themes.
Results : Most children were first-born and came from families with multiple psychosocial stressors. About
77% were abused by family members. Most abuse was chronic and occurred when caretakers were not
available or did not closely supervise the children due to economic and work-hour problems. Sixty-three
percent of the children made purposeful disclosures. After disclosure, 65% of the children were placed in
rehabilitation centers. At least 16.7% of the sample had intellectual limitations, and 28.3% had physical
problems resulting from abuse. Frequent mental health problems included guilt feelings and aggressive
behavior.
Conclusion : Family dysfunction and cultural factors place many children at risk for sexual abuse. Important
preventive strategies include empowering families so they can take better care of their children, as well as
educating parents and professionals about child sexual abuse.
Keywords : Sexual abuse, Child abuse, Child maltreatment, Asian children, Mental health problems
