Poster #13 - Patchwork Portrait of Men Partnered with Women Reporting a History of Childhood Sexual Trauma

• In Event: 2-001 - Poster Session 1 during Breakfast

Abstract

There has been growing research interest in the long-term functioning of women sexually abused in childhood. Compared to women without childhood sexual trauma (CST) histories, women with CST histories report greater levels of depression, relationship problems with partners, and parenting difficulties (Putnam 2003 for a review). To broaden our understanding of family systems of mothers with CST histories, the purpose of the present study is to examine the characteristics of men partnered with women reporting a history of CST. The importance of this study rests in the fact that despite a growing body of research identifying key risk factors for mothers with CST histories and their children, very little research has documented the characteristics of men partnered with maltreated mothers (DiLillo, 2003). We utilize a subsample of the Family Life Project that was created using propensity score matching procedures to create matched groups (total n=204) of mothers who did and did not retroactively self-report CST histories before the age of 14 to: Examine group differences between men whose partners do/do not report histories of CST with regards to (1) relationship quality as defined by martial instability and IPV, (2) depression and anxiety, (3) observed parenting behaviors. When the infant was 6 months old, male partners completed the Dimension of Marital Quality Scale (Johnson et al., 1986), Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI; Derogatis 2000), and both mother and father reported on the violence (IPV) in the relationship using the Conflict Tactics Scale-Couple Form Revised (CTS-R; Straus et al. 1990). Father-child play interactions were videotaped and subsequently coded for paternal sensitivity and harsh intrusiveness. Demographic characteristics of fathers are displayed in Table 1. Independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare mean differences between the two groups with regards to paternal age or paternal education with no significant differences noted. We used multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to test for group differences after controlling for paternal age, race, and education. Among the variables tested, we found significant differences between men in the CST group compared to the no trauma group with regards to IPV such that the CST group reported greater violence in the relationship (Table 2). We further found that men in the CST group were observed to be more harsh and intrusive in their caregiving behavior with their 6-month infant. Findings provide evidence for problematic interpersonal functioning among male partners of maltreated mothers, particularly with violence and parenting behaviors.

Author

• Bharathi J Zvara, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Presenting Author