Sexual abuse as a factor in child maltreatment by adolescent mothers of preschool aged children

1996 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J. Spieker ◽  
Lillian Bensley ◽  
Robert J. McMahon ◽  
Hellen Fung ◽  
Eric Ossiander
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Adolescent Mothers ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Infant Attachment ◽  
Protective Service ◽  
Teaching Interaction ◽  
History Of ◽  
A Prospective Study

AbstractWe examined the role of a history of sexual abuse as a predictor of child maltreatment by adolescent mothers in a prospective study of 104 mother-child dyads. Mothers were interviewed about any experienced abuse, and the mother-child dyads were observed in a teaching interaction and in the Strange Situation when the children were 1 year old. Three and a half years later, the mothers were interviewed about their Child Protective Service (CPS) contacts since the birth of their children. The percentage of mothers reporting CPS contacts for their own children was 15.4%, 38.5%, and 83.3%, respectively, for those mothers with no history of sexual abuse, a history of a single incident or brief duration of sexual abuse, and those mothers with a history of chronic sexual abuse (median 24 months duration; test of increasing trend significant atp< .000009). Mothers who reported having been chronically sexually abused as children were significantly more likely to have CPS contacts for their own children, after controlling for history of physical abuse, quality of early teaching interactions, and infant attachment security (both of which also predicted CPS contacts), race, IQ, welfare status at 1 year postpartum, and history of foster care.

scholarly journals Maternal History of Child Sexual Abuse and Maladaptive Outcomes in Sexually Abused Children: The Role of Maternal Mental Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110139
Author(s):  
Rachel Langevin ◽  
Martine Hébert ◽  
Audrey Kern
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Maternal Mental Health ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Abused Children ◽  
Maternal History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sexually Abused Children

The effects of child sexual abuse (CSA) have been found to surpass generations as maternal history of CSA is associated with increased difficulties in sexually abused children. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this association. The present study aimed to test maternal mental health symptoms including psychological distress, post-traumatic stress disorder (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. A total of 997 sexually abused children aged 3-14 years old and their mothers were recruited at five specialized intervention centers offering services to sexually abused children and their families. The children were divided into two groups depending on their mothers’ self-reported history of CSA. Mothers completed a series of questionnaires assessing their mental health and children’s functioning. Maternal history of CSA was associated with increased maternal psychological distress, PTSD symptoms, and dissociation following children’s disclosure of CSA. In turn, maternal psychological distress and maternal dissociation were associated with increased child internalizing, externalizing, and dissociation symptoms. Maternal PTSD symptoms were associated with child internalizing symptoms. Maternal mental health difficulties mediated the association between maternal CSA and sexually abused children’s maladaptive outcomes. Clinicians should assess for possible history of CSA in mothers of sexually abused children and determine how best to support them to cope with the aftermaths of their child’s disclosure and with their own traumatic past.

Understanding Revictimization Among Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors: An Interpersonal Schema Approach

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marylene Cloitre ◽  
Lisa R. Cohen ◽  
Polly Scarvalone
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Developmental Model ◽  
Trauma Survivors ◽  
Repetition Compulsion ◽  
History Of Childhood ◽  
History Of ◽  
Interpersonal Schema

Revictimization among women with a history of childhood sexual abuse was investigated within the context of a developmental model of interpersonal schemas. Data from the Interpersonal Schema Questionnaire (ISQ) revealed contrasting schema characteristics among sexually revictimized women (those sexually abused in childhood and sexually assaulted in adulthood) (n = 26), compared to those only abused in childhood (n = 18), and those never abused or assaulted (n = 25). Both revictimized women and never victimized women significantly generalized their predominant parental schemas to current relationships and differed only in the content of the schemas. The generalized parental schema of revictimized women viewed others as hostile and controlling while that of never victimized women viewed others as warm and noncontrolling. Women who had only been abused in childhood held schemas of parents as hostile but not controlling and did not generalize from parental to current schemas. The tendency to generalize observed in the first two groups suggest that “repetition compulsion” is not limited to those who were traumatized and are psychologically distressed. In this article, reasons for the absence of generalization among the childhood abuse only group are explored and implications for the treatment of childhood trauma survivors are discussed.

scholarly journals Maternal Genotypes and Mother-Infant Attachment As Moderators Of The Association Between The Early Rearing Environment And Cortisol Secretion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaclyn Ludmer
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cortisol Secretion ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Infant Attachment ◽  
Maternal History ◽  
Rearing Environment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Early Rearing

Background: This dissertation examines maternal genotypes and mother-infant attachment as moderators of the association between the early rearing environment and cortisol secretion. Study 1 examines whether DRD2, SLC6A3, and OXTR genes moderate the association between maternal history of care and maternal cortisol secretion. Study 2 examines mother-infant attachment as a moderator of the associations between maternal depressive symptoms and both infant and maternal cortisol secretion. Method: Mothers self-reported their history of care and depressive symptoms at infant age 16 months. At 17 months, mother-infant attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). Salivary cortisol was assessed at baseline and at 20- and 40-minutes post-SSP. Buccal cells were collected for genotyping. Results: Study 1 revealed that maternal history of low care predicts elevated cortisol secretion, but only for mothers with 10-repeat alleles of SLC6A3 or G alleles of OXTR. Study 2 revealed that maternal depressive symptoms predict elevated cortisol secretion, but only for infants and mothers in non-secure attachment relationships. Conclusions: This dissertation enhances our understanding of the complex relations between the early rearing environment and maternal and infant cortisol secretion.

Child Sex Abuse and Recovered Memories of Abuse: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-380
Author(s):  
Susan P. Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
The Past ◽  
Child Sex Abuse ◽  
History Of ◽  
Looking Back ◽  
Over Time

Sexual abuse of children has garnered a substantial amount of empirical research, state and federal legislation, and media coverage in the past several decades. This article briefly examines the history of child maltreatment and child sexual abuse (CSA) and societal responses to it. A review of selected articles on CSA that were published since the inception of Families in Society reveals how our knowledge of and ideas about sexual abuse, the perpetrators, responses to abuse allegations, and the Freudian concept of repression have changed over time. The phenomenon of repressed and recovered memories of abuse is also discussed, including the articles that were published in the journal. Despite continued disagreement in the field between researchers and clinicians, a summary is provided detailing points of consensus related to CSA and recovered memories.

Intergenerational Continuity in Child Maltreatment: Explicating Underlying Mechanisms

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052091454
Author(s):  
Tiffany L. Martoccio ◽  
Lisa J. Berlin ◽  
Elizabeth M. Aparicio ◽  
Karen Appleyard Carmody ◽  
Kenneth A. Dodge
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Child Protective Services ◽  
Protective Services ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽  
Physically Abused ◽  
Child Victimization ◽  
History Of ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

The current study examined direct and indirect effects of a mother’s history of childhood physical and sexual abuse on her child’s officially reported victimization. This prospective, longitudinal study followed a community-based sample of 499 mothers and their children. Mothers (35% White/non-Latina, 34% Black/non-Latina, 23% Latina, and 7% other) were recruited and interviewed during pregnancy, and child protective services records were reviewed for the presence of the participants’ target child between birth and age 3.5. Whereas both types of maternal maltreatment history doubled the child’s risk of child protective services investigation, mothers’ sexual abuse history conferred significantly greater risk. Pathways to child victimization varied by type of maternal maltreatment history. Mothers who had been physically abused later demonstrated interpersonal aggressive response biases, which mediated the path to child victimization. In contrast, the association between maternal history of sexual abuse and child victimization was mediated by mothers’ substance use problems. Study implications center on targeting child maltreatment prevention efforts according to the mother’s history and current problems.

Examination Findings in Legally Confirmed Child Sexual Abuse: It's Normal to be Normal

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce A. Adams ◽  
Katherine Harper ◽  
Sandra Knudson ◽  
Juliette Revilla
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
History Of ◽  
Case Files ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Physical Findings ◽  
Behavioral Information

Background. Studies of alleged victims of child sexual abuse vary greatly in the reported frequency of physical findings based on differences in definition of abuse and of "findings." This study was designed to determine the frequency of abnormal findings in a population of children with legal confirmation of sexual abuse, using a standardized classification system for colposcopic photographic findings. Methods. Case files and colposcopic photographs of 236 children with perpetrator conviction for sexual abuse, were reviewed. The photos were reviewed blindly by a team member other than the examiner, and specific anatomical findings were noted and classified as normal to abnormal on a scale of 1 to 5. Historical and behavioral information, as well as legal outcome was recorded, and all data entered into a dBase III program. Correlations were sought between abnormal findings and other variables. Results. The mean age of the patients was 9.0 years (range 8 months to 17 years, 11 months), with 63% reporting penile-genital contact. Genital examination findings in girls were normal in 28%, nonspecific in 49%, suspicious in 9%, and abnormal in 14% of cases. Abnormal anal findings were found in only 1% of patients. Using discriminant analysis, the two factors which significantly correlated with the presence of abnormal genital findings in girls were the time since the last incident, and a history of blood being reported at the time of the molest. Conclusions. Abnormal genital findings are not common in sexually abused girls, based on a standardized classification system. More emphasis should be placed on documenting the child's description of the molestation, and educating prosecutors that, for children alleging abuse: "It's normal to be normal."

Students Affected by Neglect

2012 ◽  
pp. 203-218
Author(s):  
Mardi Bernard ◽  
Elizabeth Popard Newell
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Academic Engagement ◽  
Social And Emotional Development ◽  
Lifelong Learners ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
School Based ◽  
History Of

Educators strive to provide an engaging environment which fosters the development of lifelong learners, and enthusiastically seek students that present with the optimal levels of academic engagement. These students are ambitious, independent, self-directed, and persistently strive toward competence and academic mastery.7 However, students who have experienced neglect may experience barriers that inhibit their ability to meet this ideal standard. Due to a multitude of interrelated factors in their neglectful home environment, these students may present with serious deficits in cognitive, academic, behavioral, social, and emotional development. This chapter is written to help teachers and school-based professionals understand and support the needs of students with a history of neglect including those whose neglect is ongoing. For a more comprehensive understanding of child maltreatment and the range of educational supports, readers are encouraged to also review Chapters 13 (sexual abuse) and 15 (physical and emotional abuse).

Subjective ratings of odorants by women with chemical sensitivity

1999 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 57-581
Author(s):  
Mercedes Fernandez ◽  
Gary E.R. Schwartz ◽  
Iris R. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Propylene Glycol ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Sensory Function ◽  
The Other ◽  
Chemical Sensitivity ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
History Of ◽  
Experimental Group

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether women with chemical sensitivity rated the intensity and pleasantness of three odorants [peppermint, vanilla, and propylene glycol (PG)] and odorless room air differently than women without chemical sensitivity. The ratings of the experimental group (women with self-reported chemical sensitivity and no history of sexual abuse) were compared to those of two control groups who did not report chemical sensitivity [sexually abused (SA) women and healthy women without sexual abuse history]. All subjects were exposed to odorants and odorless control stimuli once a week for 3 consecutive weeks. Our findings indicate that women with chemical sensitivity perceive odorants as neither more or less intense nor more or less pleasant than women without chemical sensitivity. Moreover, the control women without sexual abuse outperformed the women in the other two groups by correctly identifying the target bottle containing the odorant. These findings suggest that perception of odorants alone is unlikely to account for the symptoms associated with chemical sensitivity. These findings, along with those of Doty et al. (1988), support the notion that olfactory-sensory function does not differ between individuals with and without chemical sensitivity.

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