Abstract:
The objective of the study was to examine the moderating effect of
psychological flexibility in the relationship between Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) and Health functioning of victims of defilement in the
greater Accra region. A cross-sectional study design was adopted to select
samples of victims of defilement aged 8-15years, who reported at the greater
Accra regional DOVVSU unit and Accra police hospital. The data collection
was conducted using the Child PTSD Scale (CPSS), Child Psychological
Versatility Questionnaire (CPFQ) and the World Health Organisation
Disability Assessment Scale (WHODAS) 2.0 version. There were 87
participants who took part in the study with a mean age of 12.48±2.29 years.
Analysis discovered that majority (78.1%) of the participants experience
moderate to extremely severe PTSD. A large portion (93.3%) had moderate
level of psychological flexibility with 48.3% of the participants experiencing
moderate level of health functioning. In addition, it was observed that
psychological flexibility was not a major moderator of the PTSD and health
functioning. Based on the results, it was concluded that victims of defilement
suffer from PTSD that influences their health functioning, although the
interaction was not moderated by psychological flexibility. The study
proposed psychosocial treatment that target Psychological flexibility as a way
of enhancing coping to increase the outcomes for victims of defilement.
