IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i9p4993-d797721.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cognitive–Emotional Aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Context of Female Genital Mutilation

Author

Listed:
  • Nele Wulfes

    (Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Hildesheim, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany)

  • Uwe von Fritschen

    (Helios Klinikum Emil von Behring, 14165 Berlin, Germany)

  • Cornelia Strunz

    (Desert Flower Center Waldfriede, 14163 Berlin, Germany)

  • Nadine Kröhl

    (Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Hildesheim, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany)

  • Roland Scherer

    (Desert Flower Center Waldfriede, 14163 Berlin, Germany)

  • Christoph Kröger

    (Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Hildesheim, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany)

Abstract

Around 200 million women and girls worldwide are affected by female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). FGM/C is a procedure that harms or alters the external female genitals for non-medical reasons, and is usually performed on children. Often, this procedure leads to severe consequences for the women’s physical and mental health. In a cross-sectional sample of 112 women seeking medical counseling, physical and mental health characteristics associated with FGM/C were examined and possible predictors for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women affected by FGM/C were identified. A total of 55.4% ( n = 66) of the women reported symptom levels of probable PTSD. Predictors for higher PTSD symptomology were an older age at the time of the FGM/C procedure, feelings of guilt and the centrality of the event in the woman’s life. Thus, cognitive–emotional processing was found to play an important role in the emergence of PTSD in women suffering from FGM/C. However, interventions taking into consideration these characteristics are mostly lacking and need to be investigated further in the context of FGM/C.

Suggested Citation

  • Nele Wulfes & Uwe von Fritschen & Cornelia Strunz & Nadine Kröhl & Roland Scherer & Christoph Kröger, 2022. "Cognitive–Emotional Aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Context of Female Genital Mutilation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-12, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:9:p:4993-:d:797721
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/4993/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/4993/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andro, Armelle & Cambois, Emmanuelle & Lesclingand, Marie, 2014. "Long-term consequences of female genital mutilation in a European context: Self perceived health of FGM women compared to non-FGM women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 177-184.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Uwe von Fritschen & Cornelia Strunz & Roland Scherer & Marisa von Fritschen & Alba Fricke, 2023. "Postoperative Course of Reconstructive Procedures in FGM Type III-Proposal for a Modified Classification of Type III Female Genital Mutilation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-12, March.
    2. Shamsa Al Awar & Kornelia Zareba & Gehan Sayed Sallam & Nawal Osman & Teodora Ucenic & Howaida Khair & Suzan Al Shdefat & Hadya Abdel Fattah & Sara Maki, 2023. "Legal Awareness and Practices of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) among United Arab Emirates Medical Practitioners," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-13, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sabera Turkmani & Caroline S. E. Homer & Angela J. Dawson, 2020. "Understanding the Experiences and Needs of Migrant Women Affected by Female Genital Mutilation Using Maternity Services in Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Livia Elisa Ortensi & Alessio Menonna, 2017. "Migrating with Special Needs? Projections of Flows of Migrant Women with Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Toward Europe 2016–2030," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(4), pages 559-583, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:9:p:4993-:d:797721. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.