Relationship of sexual assault with self-concept and general health in victims referred to forensic Center in Ahvaz city

Aim of the study: We aimed to study the relationship of sexual assault with self-concept and the general health of the victims referred to forensics in Ahvaz city (Iran).

Material and methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study that was designed by two groups as case and control which has done on 128 subjects. Sixty-four rape victims who were referred to the forensic center, considered as case group and in control group, 64 people who were being referred to health clinics in Ahvaz city. The data were collected through Rogers’s standard self-concept and general health questionnaires. Questionnaires were filled in self-completion way. Data had entered and analyzed by using SPSS software (version 22). A level of significance was less than 0.05.

Results: The average score of self-concept in the case group was 14.97 ±4.78 and in control group was 6.08 ±2.9. Average score of general health of the case and control groups, respectively, were 51.09 ±18.07 and 16.92 ±12.79. A significant statistical difference between the average score of self-concept, social functioning, physical and general health components in the groups was observed.

Conclusions: More negative self-concept and vulnerable general health was observed in the rape victims group than in the control group. Providing counseling and health services and family and social support of these victims can be effective in their general health promotion