Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Perceived Parenting Competencies following Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

  • ADULT SURVIVOR, PARENTING COMPETENCY AND SEXUALLY ABUSIVE YOUTH ASSESSMENT
  • Published:
Journal of Family Violence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors may face specific challenges in their parental role because of the negative sequelae of their abuse. This study explored factors that might heighten or buffer the risk for problems in parenting for intrafamilial CSA survivors. A community sample of 54 CSA mothers completed questionnaires assessing the severity of their CSA experiences, current depressive symptoms, partner support, and key parenting dimensions. Six moderated mediational models revealed that CSA severity indirectly impacted the survivor’s bond with her child, limit setting ability, communication, and parental involvement through depressive symptoms at high levels of partner support. Partner support was protective against many difficulties in parenting at low levels of depressive symptoms, but did not promote, and at times hindered, effective parenting at high depressive symptoms. This study’s findings highlight the importance of attending to risk and protective factors in understanding parenting among CSA survivors.

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.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abidin, R. R. (1995). Parenting stress index (3rd ed.). Odessa: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

    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 

  • Bailey, H. N., DeOliveira, C. A., Wolfe, V. V., Evans, E. M., & Hartwick, C. (2012). The impact of child maltreatment history on parenting: a comparison of maltreatment types and assessment methods. Child Abuse & Neglect, 36, 236–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banyard, V. L. (1997). The impact of childhood sexual abuse and family functioning on four dimensions of women’s later parenting. Child Abuse & Neglect, 21, 1095–1107.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Banyard, V. L. (1999). Childhood maltreatment and the mental health of low-income women. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 69, 161–171.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  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, 334–349.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, O., Miller-Perrin, C. L., & Perrin, R. D. (2005). Child sexual abuse. In O. Barnett, C. L. Miller-Perrin, & R. D. Perrin (Eds.), Family violence across the lifespan: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 87–125). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, B. (2010). Childhood sexual abuse and adulthood parenting: the mediating role of intimate partner violence. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 19, 323–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beitchman, J. H., Zucker, K. J., Hood, J. E., daCosta, G. A., Akman, D., & Cassavia, E. (1992). A review of the long-term effects of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 101–118.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Briere, J. (1992). Child abuse trauma: Theory and treatment of lasting effects. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkett, L. P. (1991). Parenting behaviors of women who were sexually abused as children in their families of origin. Family Process, 30, 421–434.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, T. (1995). Motherhood among incest survivors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19, 1423–1429.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, P. M., & Woolger, C. (1989). Incest survivors: the relation of their perceptions of their parents and their own parenting attitudes. Child Abuse & Neglect, 13, 409–416.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, P. M., Woolger, C., Power, T. G., & Smith, K. D. (1992). Parenting difficulties among adult survivors of father-daughter incest. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 239–249.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cross, W. (2001). A personal history of childhood sexual abuse: parenting patterns and problems. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 6, 563–574.

    Article  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  PubMed  CAS  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., Tremblay, G. C., & Peterson, L. (2000). Linking childhood sexual abuse and abusive parenting: the mediating role of maternal anger. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 767–779.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, A. R. (2000). Reported anxieties concerning intimate parenting in women sexually abused as children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 425–434.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, O. T. (1961). A socioeconomic index for all occupations. In A. J. Reiss, O. T. Duncan, P. K. Hatt, & C. C. North (Eds.), Occupations and social status (pp. 109–138). New York: Free Press of Glencoe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fassler, I. R., Amodeo, M., Griffin, M. L., Clay, C. M., & Ellis, M. A. (2005). Predicting long -term outcomes for women sexually abused in childhood: contribution of abuse severity versus family environment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 269–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Lynskey, M. T., & Horwood, L. J. (1996). Childhood sexual abuse and psychiatric disorder in young adulthood: I. Prevalence of sexual abuse and factors associated with sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1355–1364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2008). Exposure to childhood sexual and physical abuse and adjustment in early adulthood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 607–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, M. M., Shipman, K. L., Jackson, J. L., McMahon, R. J., & Hanley, H. M. (2005). Perceptions of parenting versus parent–child interactions among incest survivors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 661–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerald, A. B. (1994). Parent–child relationship inventory (PCRI): Manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, S. H. (2007). Depression in mothers. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 3, 107–135.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E., & Timmons, K. A. (2009). Depression in its interpersonal context. In I. H. Gotlib & C. L. Hammen (Eds.), Handbook of depression (pp. 322–339). New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreklewetz, C. M., & Piotrowski, C. C. (1998). Incest survivor mothers: protecting the next generation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22, 1305–1312.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy, M. C., Graczyk, P. A., O'Hare, E. O., & Neuman, G. (2000). Maternal depression and parenting behavior: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 561–592.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  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, 257–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. New York: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

    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, 1293–1310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Messman-Moore, T. L., & Long, P. J. (2003). The role of childhood sexual abuse sequelae in the sexual revictimization of women: an empirical review and theoretical reformulation. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 537–571.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nakao, K., & Treas, J. (1992). The 1989 socioeconomic index of occupations: Construction from the 1989 occupational prestige scores (General social survey methodological report No. 74). Chicago: University of Chicago, National Opinion Research Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., & Hayes, A. F. (2007). Assessing moderated mediation hypotheses: theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42, 185–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schoedl, A. F., Costa, M. C. P., Mari, J. J., Mello, M. F., Tyrka, A. R., Carpenter, L. L., & Price, L. H. (2010). The clinical correlates of reported childhood sexual abuse: an association between age at trauma onset and severity of depression and PTSD in adults. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 19, 156–170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steel, J., Sanna, L., Hammond, B., Whipple, J., & Cross, H. (2004). Psychological sequelae of childhood sexual abuse: abuse-related characteristics, coping strategies, and attributional style. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 785–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trickett, P. K., Reiffman, A., Horowitz, L. A., & Putnam, F. W. (1997). Characteristics of sexual abuse trauma and the prediction of developmental outcomes. In D. Cicchetti & S. L. Toth (Eds.), Developmental perspectives on trauma: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 289–314). Rochester: University of Rochester Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, M. O., Fopma-Loy, J., & Fischer, S. (2005). Multidimensional assessment of resilience in mothers who are child sexual abuse survivors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 1173–1193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, M. O., Fopma-Loy, J., & Oberle, K. (2012). In their own words: the experience of mothering as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Development and Psychopathology, 24, 537–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuravin, S. J., & Fontanella, C. (1999). Parenting behaviors and perceived parenting competence of child sexual abuse survivors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 623–632.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Miami University, 90 North Patterson Avenue, Psychology Building, Room 100 G, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Larissa Atkins Seltmann & Margaret O’Dougherty Wright

Authors
  1. Larissa Atkins Seltmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Margaret O’Dougherty Wright
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Larissa Atkins Seltmann.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Seltmann, L.A., Wright, M.O. Perceived Parenting Competencies following Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Moderated Mediation Analysis. J Fam Viol 28, 611–621 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-013-9522-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-013-9522-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation