Tidig internetbaserad exponeringsintervention efter ett sexuellt övergrepp: En explorativ studie av effekten på PTSD, depression och hälsorelaterad livskvalitet

Sexual assault is a widespread problem in today’s society. Common consequenses following sexual assault include the development of PTSD, depression and a reduced health-related quality of life. Traditionally, the treatment has been provided at a later stage, after diagnosis has been established. The aim of this study was to investigate how an early intervention, Condensed Internet-delivered Prolonged Exposure (CIPE), affects levels of PTSD, depression and health-related quality of life immediately after treatment and at follow-up six months later among individuals who have experienced sexual assault in the last two months. This study was based on repeated measures of patients participating in a within-group comparison. PTSD, depression, and health-related quality of life were assessed using the PCL-5, MADRS-S, and EQ-5D-3L, respectively. The sample consisted of women (n = 10) aged 18-45 (M = 27,40, SD = 9,32). Changes in symptom levels were explored using Friedman’s test, but due to low statistical power the significance of changes between measurement points were difficult to interpret. Therefore, analyses of reliable change and clinical significance were conducted at the individual levels. Participants showed variation in their scores after the treatment. Several participants demonstrated improvements and some were meeting remission criteria from PTSD and depression, and health-related qulity of life. Overall symptom reductions were observed. Health-related quality of life did not change for many participants. The practical implications of this study suggests that early interventions may be beneficial. However, future research is needed to explore how early interventions can be designed to help individuals who did not experience improvement.