Characteristics of postural balance in young female survivors of sexual violence

Relevance. The impact of traumatic events, such as military action, physical, emotional, and sexual violence, on postural control is currently an emerging area of interest in posturology. This fact provided an impetus for the present pilot study, The study objective is to identify the specific characteristics of postural balance in women aged 18–29 who experienced sexual violence.

Methods. A total of 232 women aged 18–29 years, mean age (M ± SD) (21.1 ± 2.6) years, were examined. Group 1 included 116 women who experienced sexual violence between 2 weeks and 12 months prior to the examination. Group 2 included 116 women of the same age with no history of sexual violence. Postural balance characteristics were assessed using the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and Motor Control Test (MCT) mounted on the Smart Equitest Balance Manager computer system for dynamic posturography.

Results and discussion. The comparative SOT analysis revealed that women with prior experience of sexual violence showed risks associated with impaired static balance, deteriorated dynamic postural balance, reduced adaptive capacity of equilibrium function, and diminished automatic postural control. Sensory SOT analysis demonstrated reduced somatosensory, visual, and vestibular information input to balance control, along with disrupted sensory integration processes. The MCT results showed an increased speed of coordinated motor responses in women who experienced sexual violence. Such changes are associated with hypersensitivity to environmental and safety factors, worsened social adaptation, impaired spatial and temporal responsiveness, which negatively affects body perception, sexuality, and self-esteem.

Conclusion. The obtained research results substantiate the importance of using posturographic (stabilometric) systems and complexes for the diagnosis, correction and medical and psychological rehabilitation of sexual violence survivors. Our study demonstrates the need for a new generalized analysis of contemporary research devoted to rehabilitation and treatment of sexual violence survivors.

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