Analysis of the variation in the level of stress in the initial stage of treatment of children and adolescents victims of maltreatment assited by multidisciplinary care program

• Grant number: 12/00468-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2012
• End date: April 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Sandra Scivoletto
• Grantee: Débora Alvarez Vidal Pereira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Children living in shelters already have emotional and social consequences resulting from the separation from their families and resulting from forms of abuse and mistreatment suffered before. Socio-demographic variables such as age, education level, current residence (home or shelter), length of stay in the streets and in shelters, type and quantity of psychiatric diagnoses, and mistreatment may also be related to a greater or lesser level of stress in child/adolescent. Whereas the process of receiving and evaluation can often increase the initial stress as children revive some trauma that occurred, it is important to study the variation before the start of treatment. Objective: This study analyzes the pattern of change in the stress levels of children and adolescents in the initial phase of multidisciplinary treatment. Methods: the study program will be held in balance with a sample of 40 children/adolescents admitted between May 2011 and July 2012. The sample will be evaluated using the following instruments, which are already part of the initial evaluation protocol in the Equilibrium Program: child Stress Scale (ESI) and Stress Scale for adolescents (ESA) to evaluate the stress level of children start and end/adolescents during host, K-SADS (for psychiatric diagnoses), C-GAS (initial global functioning) and CGI (initial clinical impression). We will also collect data such as gender, age, place of current residence (family or shelter), social diagnoses (history of abuse), length of stay on the streets, length of stay in a shelter, and education. These variables will be studied in the statistical analysis of mixed-effects models to assess the influence of each of the variations of stress level in the initial phase of a multidisciplinary treatment of children victims of maltreatment.(AU)