Impact of the intensive psychological intervention care on post-traumatic stress disorder and negative emotions of teenage female patients seeking an induced abortion

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effects of intensive psychological intervention care on adverse emotions and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in female teenage patients after induced abortion. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 100 teenage female patients seeking induced abortion who were randomly divided into two groups: the intervention group (n = 50) and the control group (n = 50). The intervention group received intensive psychological intervention care, while the control group received standard routine nursing. The scores of the PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), self-rating depression (SDS), and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) were compared between the two groups at 1 month and 3 months after the operation. Results: The intervention group had lower risk of developing PTSD (24% vs. 44%), depression (10% vs. 32%), and anxiety (0% vs. 12%) symptoms at 1 month after the surgery. However, there were no significant differences observed between the two groups at 3 months after the surgery. Furthermore, the intervention group had significantly lower scores in PCL-5 (27.4 ± 5.4 vs. 31.8 ± 5.7; 20.5 ± 7.1 vs. 25.0 ± 7.5; p < 0.05), SDS (31.8 ± 5.4 vs. 37.8 ± 6.6; 26.8 ± 5.0 vs. 31.4 ± 7.2; p < 0.05), and SAS (32.7 ± 5.0 vs. 39.8 ± 6.9; 25.0 ± 2.7 vs. 27.5 ± 2.8; p < 0.05) at 1 month and 3 months after induced abortion. Conclusion: These findings suggest that intensive psychological intervention care can reduce the incidence and severity of depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms in teenage patients who undergo induced abortion. Clinical trial registration: https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=185200, identifier ChiCTR2300067531.