Evaluation of sexually abused adolescents cases by the repertory grid technique: a cross-sectional study

Purpose: In this study, we aim to explore how the adolescent girls who have experienced sexual abuse (SA) perceives themselves, their families and their surroundings, using repertory grid technique (RGT) within the scope of personal construct theory (PCT). Materials and Methods: 30 adolescent girls with SA and 25 adolescent girls with no SA were included in the study. RGT was used to assess how the adolescents perceive themselves, their families and their surroundings and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was used to measure self-esteem. Individual and familial characteristics of the participants were evaluated with a sociodemographic data form developed by the researchers. Results: Based on RGT, it was found that adolescents who had experienced SA perceived themselves as more different and distant from their mothers, their siblings and their close female friends compared with those with no SA. However, they perceived themselves as more similar to their friends that they think who have negative properties. In addition, it was determined that the sexually abused girls had excessive cognitive complexity and higher self-ideal self' discrepancy than those of nonabused controls. Sexually abused adolescents had lower self-esteem on the RSES scores. Conclusion: SA negatively affects self-perception and perception of the surrounding and it damages self-confidence and the confidence towards the world, thus sexually abused adolescents should be followed up for these problems.