DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sasjm.2026.v12i10.013

Pages: 1091-1097

Background: Interpersonal violence during childhood and adolescence is associated with substantial psychological morbidity, yet the clinical profile of patients reaching specialized psychotrauma services remains incompletely described in many settings. This study aims to characterize the sociodemographic profile, clinical presentation, and violence-related characteristics of children and adolescents referred to a hospital-based psychotrauma unit following psychological/verbal, physical, or sexual violence. Methods: We conducted a retrospective descriptive study of a pediatric population under the age of 18, including 56 patients referred to the Psychotrauma Unit of the child and adolescent psychiatry department of ARR-AZI University Hospital in Sale Morocco from May 2025, when the unit was established, through April 2026. Results: The mean age was 11.6 ± 3.4 years; 37/56 (66.1%) patients were female. Initial referral complaints were heterogeneous, with anxiety/fear/panic (25/56, 44.6%), irritability (12/56, 21.4%), sadness/depressed mood (11/56, 19.6%), and school refusal/decline/absenteeism (10/56, 17.9%) among the most frequently documented. Physical violence was recorded in 29/56 (51.8%), sexual violence in 26/56 (46.4%), and verbal/psychological violence in 8/56 (14.3%); 27/56 (48.2%) had repeated exposure. Violence perpetrated by a family member was repeated in 19/24 (79.2%) cases compared with 6/29 (20.7%) clearly extrafamilial cases. Conclusion: Children and adolescents referred to the psychotrauma unit presented with heterogeneous but predominantly trauma-related symptoms. Repeated exposure was common and was more frequently observed in intrafamilial violence. No clear sociodemographic or violence-related profile was associated with greater symptom burden in this sample. These findings provide a descriptive overview of the first year of activity of the unit and identify variables that may warrant further investigation in larger prospective cohorts.