Ahmed Saad Alahmed and Julian C Leslie
University of Ulster, UK
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychol Abnorm Child
Background: The aim of this study was to assess abused children in Saudi Arabia for possible psychological problems and to compare them with children attending the regular school system. Sample: The participants were 68 Saudi abused children who live either with their families or in governmental residential homes and 53 children in the same age range recruited in the same Saudi city. Method: Children were asked to complete the self-report Spence Children's Anxiety Scale and parents or caregivers were asked to complete Child Behavior Checklist. Results: Abused children suffered from different types of anxiety but the highest one was generalized anxiety disorder. Also, these children had emotional and behavioral problems and the most frequent ones were aggressive behaviors and being anxious or depressed. Comparable scores from the children from regular schools showed mean scores that were high but not as high as for the abused children in any of these areas. Conclusion: Saudi abused children had high levels of anxiety and behavioral and emotional problems and this has implications for their care which have not been considered to date. Limitations of the data are discussed.
Ahmed Saad Alahmed started his PhD under supervision of Professor Julian Leslie at Ulster University. He has obtained his both Undergraduate and Master's degree in Psychology. During his undergraduate studies, he has enhanced skills in the field by working as a Psychologist in a hospital specialized in the treatment of mental health problems in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for six months. After graduating, he continued building his experience by working under appropriate supervision as a Child Psychologist with disabled children (deaf children and children with intellectual problems) for six years. In addition, he taught in different modules such as (Educational, Developmental and Counseling Psychology) for three years in the Department of Psychology at the University of Al-Imam Mohammed bin Saud. He had training courses in using CBT with children and adults as well. He is currently working in a project which is about assessing abused children in Saudi Arabia for behavioral and emotional disorders.
Email: alahmed-a@email.ulster.ac.uk
