Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Maternal Childhood Sexual Trauma and Child Conduct Problems

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Family Violence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examines multiple pathways by which maternal childhood sexual trauma may be related to the behavioral development of children. Propensity score matching procedures were used to create matched groups (total n = 204) of mothers who retroactively did and did not self-report childhood sexual trauma in a longitudinal sample of families living in poor, rural communities. Using structural equation modeling, maternal characteristics and behaviors were examined as potential mediators of the relationship between maternal histories of childhood sexual trauma and children’s conduct problems. After controlling for numerous socio-demographic factors, analyses indicate that maternal depressive symptoms, intimate partner violence, and maternal parenting were significant mediators and highlight the lasting impact of childhood sexual trauma on victims and their children.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum.

  • Alexander, P. C. (1993). The differential effects of abuse characteristics and attachment in the prediction of long-term effects of sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 8, 346–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, P. C., Teti, L., & Anderson, C. L. (2000). Childhood sexual abuse history and role reversal in parenting. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 829–838.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arbuckle, J. L. (1996). Full information estimation in the presence of incomplete data. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), Advanced structural equation modeling (pp. 243–277). Mahwah: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banyard, V. L., Williams, L. M., & Siegel, J. A. (2003). The impact of complex trauma and depression on parenting: an exploration of mediating risk and protective factors. Child Maltreatment, 8(4), 334–349.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Batty, G. D., Lawlor, D. A., Macintyre, S., Clark, H., & Leon, D. A. (2005). Accuracy of adults’ recall of childhood social class: findings from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 59(10), 898–903.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bayley, N. (1969). Bayley scales of mental development. New York: Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J. (1984). The determinants of parenting: a process model. Child Development, 55, 83–96.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C. S., & Haynes, O. M. (2011). Maternal personality, parenting cognitions, and parenting practices. Developmental Psychology, 47, 658–675.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bridgett, D. J., Gartstein, M. A., Putnam, S. P., McKay, T., Iddins, E., Robertson, C., & Rittmueller, A. (2009). Maternal and contextual influences and the effect of temperament development during infancy on parenting in toddlerhood. Infant Behavior and Development, 32(1), 103–116.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Briere, J., & Elliott, D. M. (2003). Prevalence and psychological sequelae of self-reported childhood physical and sexual abuse in a general population sample of men and women. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 1205–1222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. Sage Focus Editions, 154, 136–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler, A. C. (2013). Child sexual assault: risk factors for girls. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(9), 643–652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, S. B., Shaw, D. S., & Gilliom, M. (2000). Early externalizing behavior problems: toddlers and preschoolers at risk for later maladjustment. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 467–488.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., & Martin, M. J. (2010). Socioeconomic status, family processes, and individual development. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 685–704.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, M. J., & Crnic, K. (2002). Qualitative ratings for parent-child interaction at 3-12 months of age. Unpublished manuscript, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

  • Crockenberg, S., & Langrock, A. (2001). The role of specific emotions in children’s responses to interparental conflict: a test of the model. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(2), 163–182.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (2010). Marital conflict and risky families. In E. M. Cummings & P. T. Davies (Eds.), Marital conflict and children: An emotional security perspective (pp. 5–21). New York and London: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dehejia, R., & Wahba, S. (2002). Propensity score matching methods for non-experimental causal studies. Review of Economics and Statistics, 84, 151–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derogatis, L. (2000). Brief symptom inventory 18. Minneapolis: NCS Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • DiLillo, D. (2001). Interpersonal functioning among women reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse: empirical findings and methodological issues. Clinical Psychology Review, 21, 553–576.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DiLillo, D., & Damashek, A. (2003). Parenting characteristics of women reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse. Child Maltreatment, 8, 319–333.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DiLillo, D., Giuffre, D., Tremblay, G. C., & Peterson, L. (2001). A closer look at the nature of intimate partner violence reported by women with a history of child sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16(2), 116–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., & Ridder, E. M. (2005). Show me the child at seven: the consequences of conduct problems in childhood for psychosocial functioning in adulthood. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 46(8), 837–849.

  • Fisher, H. L., Craig, T. K., Fearon, P., Morgan, K., Dazzan, P., Lappin, J., … & Murray, R. M. (2009). Reliability and comparability of psychosis patients’ retrospective reports of childhood abuse. Schizophrenia Bulletin, sbp103.

  • Frick, P. J., & Morris, A. S. (2004). Temperament and developmental pathways to conduct problems. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33(1), 54–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, R. (1997). The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: a research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(5), 581–586.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, S. H., Rouse, M. H., Connell, A. M., Broth, M. R., Hall, C. M., & Heyward, D. (2011). Maternal depression and child psychopathology: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 14(1), 1–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Green, B. L. (1996). Trauma history questionnaire. In B. H. Stamm (Ed.), Measurement of stress trauma and adaptation (pp. 366–369). Lutherville: Sidran.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grych, J. H., & Fincham, F. D. (Eds.). (2001). Interparental conflict and child development: Theory, research and applications. Cambridge University Press.

  • Hardt, J., & Rutter, M. (2004). Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(2), 260–273.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, J., & Reiter, J. P. (2006). Interval estimation for treatment effects using propensity score matching. Statistics in Medicine, 25(13), 2230–2256.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Imai, K., Keele, L., & Tingley, D. (2010). A general approach to causal mediation analysis. Psychological Methods, 15(4), 309–334.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kendall-Tackett, K. (2002). The health effects of childhood abuse: four pathways by which abuse can influence health. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26(6), 715–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitzmann, K. M., Gaylord, N. K., Holt, A. R., & Kenny, E. D. (2003). Child witnesses to domestic violence: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(2), 339–352.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer, H. C., Stice, E., Kazdin, A., Offord, D., & Kupfer, D. (2001). How do risk factors work together? mediators, moderators, and independent, overlapping, and proxy risk factors. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(6), 848–856.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krieger, N., Okamoto, A., & Selby, J. V. (1998). Adult female twins’ recall of childhood social class and father’s education: a validation study for public health research. American Journal of Epidemiology, 147(7), 704–708.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levendosky, A. A., & Graham-Bermann, S. A. (2000). Behavioral observations of parenting in battered women. Journal of Family Psychology, 14(1), 80–94.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levendosky, A. A., Huth-Bocks, A. C., Shapiro, D. L., & Semel, M. A. (2003). The impact of domestic violence on the maternal-child relationship and preschool-age children's functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 17(3), 275–287.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons-Ruth, K., & Block, D. (1996). The disturbed caregiving system: relations among childhood trauma, maternal caregiving, and infant affect and attachment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 17(3), 257–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mapp, S. C. (2006). The effects of sexual abuse as a child on the risk of mothers physically abusing their children: a path analysis using systems theory. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(11), 1293–1310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marmorstein, N. R., Malone, S. M., & Iacono, W. G. (2004). Psychiatric disorders among offspring of depressed mothers: associations with paternal psychopathology. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1588–1594.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mckenzie, S. K., & Carter, K. N. (2009). Are retrospective measures of childhood socioeconomic position in prospective adult health surveys useful? Australasian Epidemiologist, 16(3), 22–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. (2010). Mplus 6.0. Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (1999). Child care and mother–child interaction in the first three years of life. Developmental Psychology, 35, 1399–1413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noll, J. G. (2005). Does childhood sexual abuse set in motion a cycle of violence against women? what we know and what we need to learn. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(4), 455–462.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paolucci, E. O., Genuis, M. L., & Violato, C. (2001). A meta-analysis of the published research on the effects of child sexual abuse. The Journal of Psychology, 135(1), 17–36.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, F. W. (2003). Ten-year research updates review: child sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(3), 269–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, S. P., Sanson, A. V., & Rothbart, M. K. (2002). Child temperament and parenting. Handbook of Parenting, 1, 255–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raver, C. (2004). Placing emotional self‐regulation in sociocultural and socioeconomic contexts. Child Development, 75(2), 346–353.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, R., O’Connor, T., Dunn, J., & Golding, J. (2004). The effects of child sexual abuse in later family life; mental health, parenting and adjustment of offspring. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28(5), 525–545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1983). The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 70(1), 41–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruscio, A. M. (2001). Predicting the child-rearing practices of mothers sexually abused in childhood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25(3), 369–387.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, K. D., Kilmer, R. P., Cauce, A. M., Watanabe, H., & Hoyt, D. R. (2000). Psychological consequences of child maltreatment in homeless adolescents: untangling the unique effects of maltreatment and family environment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24(3), 333–352.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schuetze, P., & Das Eiden, R. D. (2005). The relationship between sexual abuse during childhood and parenting outcomes: modeling direct and indirect pathways. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29(6), 645–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (1996). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Smith, C. (1990). Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families (pp. 29–47). New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tolan, P. H., Dodge, K., & Rutter, M. (2013). Tracking the multiple pathways of parent and family influence on disruptive behavior disorders. In P. H. Tolan & B. L. Leventhal (Eds.), Disruptive behavior disorders (pp. 161–191). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Widom, C. S., & Morris, S. (1997). Accuracy of adult recollections of childhood victimization, part 2: childhood sexual abuse. Psychological Assessment, 9(1), 34–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zvara, B. J., Mills-Koonce, W. R., Carmody, K. A., Cox, M., & Family Life Project Key Investigators. (2015). Childhood sexual trauma and subsequent parenting beliefs and behaviors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 44, 87–97.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#7445 421C Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7445, USA

    B. J. Zvara & M. Cox

  2. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, USA

    R. Mills-Koonce

  3. Duke University, Durham, USA

    K. Appleyard Carmody

Authors
  1. B. J. Zvara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. Mills-Koonce
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. K. Appleyard Carmody
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. Cox
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Consortia

The Family Life Project Key Investigators

Corresponding author

Correspondence to B. J. Zvara.

Additional information

*The Family Life Project (FLP) Key Investigators include Lynne Vernon Feagans, The University of North Carolina; Martha Cox, The University of North Carolina; Clancy Blair, New York University; Peg Burchinal, The University of North Carolina; Linda Burton, Duke University; Keith Crnic, The Arizona State University; Ann Crouter, The Pennsylvania State University; Patricia Garrett-Peters, The University of North Carolina; Mark Greenberg, The Pennsylvania State University; Stephanie Lanza, The Pennsylvania State University; Roger Mills-Koonce, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Emily Werner, The Pennsylvania State University and Michael Willoughby, The University of North Carolina.

Support for this research was provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (PO1-HD-39667), with co-funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Additional support was provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (A12-0934) awarded as a predoctoral fellowship (F31) to the lead author.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zvara, B.J., Mills-Koonce, R., Carmody, K.A. et al. Maternal Childhood Sexual Trauma and Child Conduct Problems. J Fam Viol 32, 231–242 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-016-9876-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-016-9876-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation