Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T23:59:54.213Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

In their own words: The experience of mothering as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2012

Margaret O'Dougherty Wright ,
Joan Fopma-Loy  and
Katherine Oberle
Margaret O'Dougherty Wright*
Affiliation:
Miami University
Joan Fopma-Loy
Affiliation:
Miami University
Katherine Oberle
Affiliation:
Miami University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Margaret O'Dougherty Wright, Department of Psychology, 90 North Patterson Avenue, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056; E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article reviews past research on the parenting characteristics of childhood sexual abuse survivors and presents the results of a qualitative study exploring the women's perspectives on mothering as a survivor. Grounded theory was used in the collection and analysis of the data. Data sources included the narrative responses of 79 women (mean age = 38.2 years) and in-depth interviews of a purposive sample of 15 women (mean age = 39 years). They had an average of 2.2 children, ranging in age from 5 months to young adulthood. The theoretical model identified through analysis of data using the constant comparison method was entitled “The Hard Work of Mothering as a Survivor.” Processes emerged that described the ways participants managed the work of mothering in light of memories of the abuse and attempts to heal from this earlier trauma. The conditions for committing to the work included becoming aware of and accepting the reality of the abuse and how it affected one's life, and taking on the hard work of developing a mothering self. This included expanding awareness, developing and evaluating a personal model of mothering, navigating typical and abuse salient parenting challenges, mothering through the pain of recovery, and battling for balance. The findings highlighted the dynamic, multifaceted nature of recovery and resilience for these mothers and the need for an increased focus on parenting in counseling with childhood sexual abuse survivors. Provision of anticipatory guidance regarding commonly experienced stressors at varying stages of the child's development and the mother's stage of recovery and methods for coping with these challenges, would benefit these mothers and promote parenting competence. Specific implications for psychotherapy and directions for future research are discussed.

Type
Special Section Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , May 2012 , pp. 537 - 552
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, P. C., Teti, L., & Anderson, C. L. (2000). Childhood sexual abuse history and role reversal in parenting. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 829–838.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allen, J. G., Fonagy, P., & Bateman, A. W. (2008). Mentalizing in clinical practice. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.Google Scholar
Arata, C. M. (2002). Child sexual abuse and sexual revictimization. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 9, 135–164.CrossRefGoogle 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Banyard, V. L. (1999). Childhood maltreatment and the mental health of low-income women. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 69, 161–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Banyard, V. L., & Williams, L. (2007). Women's voices on recovery: A multi-method study of the complexity of recovery from child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31, 275–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barnett, O., Miller-Perrin, C. L., & Perrin, R. D. (2005). Child sexual abuse. In Barnett, O., Miller-Perrin, C. L., & Perrin, R. D. (Eds.), Family violence across the lifespan: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 87–125). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Beck, C. T. (1993). Qualitative research: The evaluation of its credibility, fittingness, and auditability. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 15, 263–266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Clinical applications of attachment theory. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Briere, J. (1992). Child abuse trauma: Theory and treatment of lasting effects. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Briere, J., & Elliott, D. M. (2003). Prevalence and symptomatic sequelae of self-reported childhood physical and sexual abuse in a general population sample of men and women. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 1205–1222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Briere, J., & Jordan, C. E. (2009). Childhood maltreatment, intervening variables, and adult psychological difficulties in women. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 10, 375–388.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Briere, J., & Runtz, M. (1988). Symptomatology associated with childhood sexual victimization in a nonclinical adult sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12, 51–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Browne, A., & Finkelhor, D. (1986). Impact of child sexual abuse: A review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 99, 66–77.CrossRefGoogle 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chaffin, M., Silovsky, J. F., Funderburk, B., Valle, L. A., Brestan, E. V., Balachova, T., et al. (2004). Parent–child interaction therapy with physically abusive parents: Efficacy for reducing future abuse reports. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 500–510.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Chiovitti, R. F., & Piran, N. (2003). Rigour and grounded theory research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 44, 427–435.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., & Garmezy, N. (1993). Prospects and promises in the study of resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 497–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2005). Child maltreatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 409–438.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., & Valentino, K. (2007). Toward the application of a multiple-levels-of-analysis perspective to research in development and psychopathology. In Masten, A. (Ed.), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology (Vol. 34, pp. 243–284). Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cloitre, M., Koenen, K. C., Cohen, L. R., & Han, H. (2002). Skills training in affective and interpersonal regulation followed by exposure: A phase-based treatment for PTSD related to childhood abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 1067–1074.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, T. (1995). Motherhood among incest survivors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19, 1423–1429.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Courtois, C. A. (2010). Healing the incest wound: Adult survivors in therapy (2nd ed.). New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Cross, W. (2001). A personal history of childhood sexual abuse: Parenting patterns and problems. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 6, 563–574.CrossRefGoogle 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DiLillo, D., & Damashek, A. (2003). Parenting characteristics of women reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse. Child Maltreatment, 8, 319–333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DiPalma, L. M. (1994). Patterns of coping and characteristics of high-functioning incest survivors. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 8, 82–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dong, M., Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Dube, S. R., Williamson, D. F., Thompson, T. J., et al. (2004). The interrelatedness of multiple forms of childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 771–784.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duncan, O. T. (1961). A socioeconomic index for all occupations. In Reiss, A. J., Duncan, O. T., Hatt, P. K., & North, C. C. (Eds.), Occupations and social status (pp. 109–138). New York: Free Press of Glencoe.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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, J., & Lynskey, M. T. (1996). Childhood sexual abuse and psychiatric disorder in young adulthood: II. Psychiatric outcomes of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1365–1374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finkelhor, D. (1994). The international epidemiology of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 18, 409–417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Finkelhor, D. (1990). Early and long-term effects of child sexual abuse: An update. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2, 325–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finkelhor, D. (2008). Child victimization: Violence, crime and abuse in the lives of young people. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garmezy, N., Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (1984). The study of stress and competence in children: A building block for developmental psychology. Child Development, 55, 97–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garmezy, N., & Rutter, M. (1983). Stress, coping, and development in children. New York: McGraw–Hill.Google Scholar
George, C. (1996). A representational perspective of child abuse and prevention: Internal working models of attachment and caregiving. Child Abuse & Neglect, 20, 411–424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glaser, B. G. (1992). Basics of grounded theory analysis. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.Google Scholar
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine.Google Scholar
Gorey, K., & Leslie, D. (1997). The prevalence of child sexual abuse: Integrative review adjustment for potential response and measurement bias. Child Abuse & Neglect, 21, 391–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2, 271–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harter, S. L., & Taylor, T. L. (2000). Parental alcoholism, child abuse, and adult adjustment. Journal of Substance Abuse, 11, 31–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harvey, M. R. (2007). Towards an ecological understanding of resilience in trauma survivors: Implications for theory, research, and practice. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 14, 9–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herman, J. L. (1981). Father–daughter incest. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Higgins, D. J., & McCabe, M. P. (2000). Relationships between different types of maltreatment during childhood and adjustment in adulthood. Child Maltreatment, 5, 261–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Himelein, M. J., & McElrath, J. V. (1996). Resilient child sexual abuse survivors: Cognitive coping and illusion. Child Abuse & Neglect, 20, 747–758.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, C. F. (2004). Child sexual abuse. Lancet, 364, 462–470.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendall-Tackett, K. A. (2004). Health consequences of abuse in the family: A clinical guide for evidence-based practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kreklewetz, C. M., & Piotrowski, C. C. (1998). Incest survivor mothers: Protecting the next generation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22, 1305–1312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liem, J. H., James, J. B., O'Toole, J. G., & Boudewyn, A. C. (1997). Assessing resilience in adults with histories of childhood sexual abuse. American Orthopsychiatric Association, 67, 594–606.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luthar, S., & Brown, P. J. (2007). Maximizing resilience through diverse levels of inquiry: Prevailing paradigms, possibilities and priorities for the future. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 931–955.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luthar, S., Cicchetti, K., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 543–562.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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, 257–275.3.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marecek, J., Fine, M., & Kidder, L. (2001). Working between two worlds: Qualitative methods and psychology. In Tolman, D. L. & Brydon-Miller, M. (Eds.), From subjects to subjectivities: A handbook of interpretive and participatory methods. Qualitative studies in psychology (pp. 29–41). New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S. (Ed.). (2007). Multilevel dynamics in developmental psychopathology: The Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology (Vol. 34). Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Wright, M. O. (2010). Resilience over the lifespan: Developmental perspectives on resistance, recovery and transformation. In Reich, J. W., Zautra, A. J., & Hall, J. S. (Eds.), Handbook of adult resilience: Concepts, methods, and applications (pp. 213–237). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
McCloskey, L. A., & Bailey, J. A. (2000). The intergenerational transmission of risk for child sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 1019–1035.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGee, R. A., Wolfe, D. A., & Wilson, S. K. (1997). Multiple maltreatment experiences and adolescent behavior problems: Adolescents' perspectives. Development and Psychopathology, 9, 131–149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McLeod, J. (2001). Qualitative research in counseling and psychotherapy. London: Sage.CrossRefGoogle 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morrow, S. L., & Smith, M. L. (1995). Constructions of survival and coping by women who have survived childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 42, 24–33.CrossRefGoogle 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
Noll, J. G., Trickett, P. K., Harris, W. W., & Putnam, F. W. (2009). The cumulative burden borne by offspring whose mothers were sexually abused as children: Descriptive results from a multigenerational study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 424–449.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ochocka, J., Nelson, G., & Janzen, R. (2005). Moving forward: Negotiating self and external circumstances in recovery. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 28, 315–322.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perrott, K., Morris, E., Martin, J., & Romans, S. (1998). Cognitive coping styles of women sexually abused in childhood: A qualitative study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 2, 1135–1149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phelps, J. L., Belsky, J., & Crnic, K. (1998). Earned security, daily stress, and parenting: A comparison of five alternative models. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 21–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Phillips, A., & Daniluk, J. C. (2004). Beyond “survivor”: How childhood sexual abuse informs the identity of adult women at the end of the therapeutic process. Journal of Counseling and Development, 82, 177–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polusny, M. A., & Follette, V. M. (1995). Long term correlates of child sexual abuse: Theory and review of the empirical literature. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 4, 143–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pratchett, L. C., & Yehuda, R. (2011). Foundations of posttraumatic stress disorder: Does early life trauma lead to adult posttraumatic stress disorder? Development and Psychopathology, 23, 477–491.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Putnam, F. W. (2003). Ten-year research update review: Child sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 269–278.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riggs, S. A. (2010). Childhood emotional abuse and the attachment system across the life cycle: What theory and research tell us. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 19, 5–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rind, B., Tromovitch, P., & Bauserman, R. (1998). A meta-analytic examination of assumed properties of child sexual abuse using college samples. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 22–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rogosch, F. A., Cicchetti, D., Shields, A., & Toth, S. L. (1995). Parenting dysfunction in child maltreatment. In Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (pp. 127–159). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Roisman, G. I., Madsen, S. D., Hennighausen, K. H., Sroufe, L. A., & Collins, W. A. (2001). The coherence of dyadic behavior across parent–child and romantic relationships as mediated by the internalized representation of experience. Attachment & Human Development, 3, 156–172.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rumstein-McKean, O., & Hunsley, J. (2001). Interpersonal and family functioning of female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Clinical Psychology Review, 21, 471–490.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ruscio, A. M. (2001). Predicting the child-rearing practices of mothers sexually abused in childhood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25, 369–387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, D. E. H. (1986). The secret trauma: Incest in the lives of girls and women. New York: Basic Books.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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seltmann, L. A., & Wright, M. O. (2012). Effective parenting following childhood sexual abuse: A moderated mediation analysis focusing on the role of severity of abuse, depression, and partner support. Manuscript in preparation.Google Scholar
Sgroi, S. (1989). Vulnerable populations (Vol. 2). New York: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Stiles, W. B. (2001). Assimilation of problematic experiences. Psychotherapy, 38, 462–465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Sullivan, M. L. (1998). Integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in the study of developmental psychopathology in context. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 377–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Timmer, S. G., Urquiza, A. J., Zebell, N. M., & McGrath, J. M. (2005). Parent–child interaction therapy: Application to maltreating parent–child dyads. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 825–842.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trickett, P. K., Noll, J. E., & Putnam, F. W. (2011). The impact of sexual abuse on female development: Lessons from a multigenerational, longitudinal research study. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 453–476.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trickett, P. K., & Putnam, F. W. (1998). Developmental consequences of child sexual abuse. In Trickett, P. K. & Schellenbach, C. J. (Eds.), Violence against children in the family and the community (pp. 39–56). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walsh, K., Fortier, M. A., & DiLillo, D. (2010). Adult coping with childhood sexual abuse: A theoretical and empirical review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Westerlund, E. (1992). Women's sexuality after childhood incest. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Wright, M. O. (2007). Childhood emotional abuse: Mediating and moderating processes affecting long-term impact. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.Google Scholar
Wright, M. O., Crawford, E., & Sebastian, K. (2007). Positive resolution of childhood sexual abuse experiences: The role of coping, benefit-finding and meaning making. Journal of Family Violence, 22, 597–608.CrossRefGoogle 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wright, M. O., & Masten, A. S. (2005). Resilience processes in development: Fostering positive adaptation in the context of adversity. In Goldstein, S. & Brooks, R. (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in children (pp. 17–37). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema therapy: A practitioner's guide. New York: Guilford Press.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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zuravin, S., McMillen, C., DePanfilis, D., & Risley-Curtiss, C. (1996). The intergenerational cycle of child maltreatment: Continuity versus discontinuity. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 11, 315–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar