Socioemotional Difficulties in Sexually Abused Children: The Role of Maternal Child Sexual Abuse and Mental Health

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Topic - Health, Growth, Injury

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) has been associated with a host of short- and long-term negative consequences including internalizing and externalizing problems, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, dissociation, and disrupted attachment styles (e.g., Charest et al., 2018; Lindert et al., 2014; Langevin et al., 2015). Revictimization and intergenerational continuity are also documented, highlighting the increased risk of CSA victims to be revictimized sexually or in their romantic relationships later in life, and of their children to also be exposed to CSA (Baril & Tourigny, 2015). Thus, the impacts of CSA not only affect the abused individual but can have spilled over effects on the next generation of children (Trickett et al., 2011). The present study aimed to test maternal mental health symptoms including psychological distress, PTSD symptoms, and dissociation as mediators of the relationship between maternal CSA and children’s internalizing, externalizing, and dissociation symptoms in a large sample of sexually abused children. Indeed, while studies have documented the increased difficulties of sexually abused children when their mother also presented a history of CSA as compared to sexually abused children of non-abused mothers, mechanisms underlying these associations have yet to be examined (Berthelot et al., 2012). METHOD. A total of 997 sexually abused children aged 3-14 years old (M = 7.61, SD = 2.61) and their mother were recruited at intervention centres offering specialized services to sexually abused children and their family. Approximately half of the mothers reported a history of CSA (49.3%). Mothers completed a series of validated questionnaires assessing their mental health and children’s functioning, including the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000; 2001), the Child Dissociation Checklist (Putnam et al., 1993), the Psychiatric Symptom Index (Préville et al., 1992), and the Modified PTSD Symptoms Scale – Self-Report (Falsetti et al., 1993). RESULTS. A concurrent mediation analysis was performed with Mplus and results showed that maternal CSA was indirectly associated with child internalizing, externalizing, and dissociation symptoms through its positive association with maternal psychological distress and dissociation. Maternal PTSD symptoms only mediated the association between maternal CSA and internalizing symptoms. Indirect effects were tested using the bootstrapping procedure and 95% confidence intervals (see Table 1). A visual representation of the findings is presented in Figure 1. IMPLICATIONS. While this study examined maternal factors associated with outcomes in sexually abused children, mothers should not be blamed for their child’s sexual abuse and difficulties following the abuse. However, this study provides valuable information on the needs of mothers in the context of their child’s victimization and underscores the specific and heightened challenges that mothers with a history of CSA might face. Specialized teams working with sexually abused children and their families need to document maternal histories of CSA and determine if, in addition to the child, the mothers might need professional support for mental health difficulties. Making sure that mothers are the best support for their child will most definitely foster children’s recovery and help abused children resume to a healthy developmental trajectory.

Authors

• Rachel Langevin, McGill University
  Presenting Author

• Martine Hebert, Université du Québec à Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Audrey Kern, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author