Perceptions of parenting versus parent-child interactions among incest survivors

Although women with histories of child sexual abuse (CSA) perceive themselves as less competent mothers and report greater parenting difficulties than nonabused women, few investigators have actually observed the parenting behaviors of CSA survivors. The primary aim of this study was to examine whet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Child abuse & neglect Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 661 - 681
Main Authors:	Fitzgerald, Monica M., Shipman, Kimberly L., Jackson, Joan L., McMahon, Robert J., Hanley, Honora M.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2005 New York, NY Elsevier Elsevier Science Elsevier Science Ltd
Subjects:	Adaptation, Psychological Adult Attitude Biological and medical sciences Child Child Abuse Child abuse & neglect Child Abuse, Sexual - psychology Child Rearing Child Sexual Abuse Child, Preschool Childhood Factors Childhood sexual abuse Childrearing Practices Children & youth Female Females Humans Incest Incest - psychology Male Medical sciences Mothers Parent Child Relations Parent Child Relationship Parent-Child interactions Parental Attitudes Parenting Parenting - psychology Parenting efficacy Parents & parenting Perceptions Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychopathology. Psychiatry Self Efficacy Sexual Abuse Social Perception Survivors Victimology Washington Women Washington Parenting Child sexual abuse Parent-child interactions Incest Parenting efficacy Human Parental behavior Self perception Mother child relation Victimology Efficiency Social interaction Early traumatism Female Sexual abuse Antecedent
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Summary:	Although women with histories of child sexual abuse (CSA) perceive themselves as less competent mothers and report greater parenting difficulties than nonabused women, few investigators have actually observed the parenting behaviors of CSA survivors. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether incest history was related to maternal perceptions of parenting efficacy and interactional patterns with their children. The secondary aim of this study was to explore the constructs of internal working models of relationships and maternal psychological adjustment as potential mediators of the relation between incest history and parenting. A community sample of 17 incest survivors, 18 nonabused women and their 3–6 year-old children participated. Mothers completed self-report measures of parenting efficacy, parental bonding (i.e., internal working models of relationships), and psychological adjustment. In addition, mothers interacted with their children in a problem-solving task. Although incest survivors reported less parenting self-efficacy than did nonabused mothers, their interactional styles with their children were positive overall and comparable to those of nonabused mothers. Specifically, survivors displayed moderate to high levels of support, assistance, and confidence, and their children showed high levels of affection towards their mothers. Incest survivors reported less bonding with their own mothers in childhood and poorer current psychological adjustment. Findings suggest that incest survivors’ perceptions of their parenting abilities may be more negative than their actual parenting behaviors. French-language abstract not available at time of publication. Spanish-language abstract not available at time of publication.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0145-2134 1873-7757
DOI:	10.1016/j.chiabu.2004.10.012