Families coping with the forensic anogenital colposcopic examination

Background: The anogenital colposcopic examination is not a routine procedure in the ordinary examination of children, and knowledge is sparse regarding child and parental anticipation and coping.

Methodology: The study included 60 children aged 4 - 15 years of age, examined on grounds of alleged sexual abuse, during a two year period. The physician rated the child using the Procedure Behavioral Rating Scale (PBRS). In addition, the child and parent completed a questionnaire concerning their experience.

Principal findings: Mean PBRS score was 1.3. Significant positive correlations were found between the parental expectations to the child’s anxiety regarding the examination, and the children’s anxiety, the experience of the examination being bad/ugly and the experience of pain during the examination. Significantly higher PBRS scores were found in the group with no perpetrator conviction.

Conclusions: High levels of parental and child distress emphasizes the need for better preparatory and stress reducing procedures, to avoid possible re-victimization and negative influence of parental anticipatory anxiety on the child. The finding of significantly higher PBRS scores in the group with no conviction could indicate, that lack of behavioral distress might be related to the possibility of sexual abuse.