Is female genital mutilation/cutting associated with adverse mental health consequences? A systematic review of the evidence (2019)
This study is a Comparative research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): Abdalla,S. M.,& Galea,S.
FGM/C Type(s): All
Health area of focus: Mental health.
Objective: The adverse physical consequences of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) have been thoroughly investigated and documented. Yet,we know little about the adverse mental health consequences of the practice. To fill this research gap,we systematically reviewed studies that assessed any adverse mental health consequences related to FGM/C.
Study Population: Seven studies examined potential adverse mental health outcomes spanning adolescence and adulthood,7 27 30–32 34 38 six studies restricted their populations to adults,25 28 29 33 36 37 two studies to adolescents24 26 and one study35 did not list participants’ age range. While the majority of studies focused on recruiting women,one study35 recruited couples
Findings: We included 16 studies in this review; only six studies examined the association between FGM/C and adverse mental health outcomes as the sole research question. Among the included studies,10 were conducted at the participants’ country of origin. The sample size of the populations studied ranged from 3 to 4800 participants. Only one study received a rating of ‘good’ methodological quality. Fourteen of the 16 studies reported an association between FGM/C and at least adverse mental health outcome. These included eight studies that reported a higher burden of adverse mental health outcomes among women who underwent FGM compared with women who did not undergo FGM/C. Four studies reported a correlation between the severity of FGM/C and the severity of adverse mental health outcomes
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Southern Asia,Western Africa,Western Europe,Eastern Africa,Southern Europe,Western Asia,Northern Africa,North America
Country(ies):Egypt,Ethiopia,Iran,Iraq,Israel,Kuwait,Senegal,Greece,Netherlands,Spain,United States