Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T20:16:21.330Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2009

Susan J. Spieker ,
Lillian Bensley ,
Robert J. McMahon ,
Hellen Fung  and
Eric Ossiander
Susan J. Spieker*
Affiliation:
University of Washington, Center on Human Development and Disability
Lillian Bensley
Affiliation:
Washington State Department of Health
Robert J. McMahon
Affiliation:
University of Washington
Hellen Fung
Affiliation:
University of Washington
Eric Ossiander
Affiliation:
Washington State Department of Health
*
Susan SpiekerUniversity of Washington, Center on Human Development and Disability, Box 357920, Seattle, WA 98195–7920.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We 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 at p < .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.

Type
Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , Summer 1996 , pp. 497 - 509
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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

Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Ammons, R. B., & Ammons, C. H. (1962). The Quick Test (QT): Provisional Manual. Psychological Reports, 11, 111–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnard, K., Hammond, M., Booth, C., Bee, H., Mitchell, S., & Spieker, S. (1989). Measurement and meaning of parent-child interaction. In Morrison, F. J. & Lee, C. E. (Eds.), Applied developmental psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 39–80). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Belsky, J. (1993). Etiology of child maltreatment: A developmental-ecological analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 413–434.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
BoltonJr., F. G. Jr., F. G., & Laner, R. H. (1981). Maternal maturity and maltreatment. Journal of Family Issues, 2, 485–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolton, F. G., Laner, R. H., & Kane, S. P. (1980). Child maltreatment risk among adolescent mothers: A study of reported cases. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 50, 489–504.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyer, D., & Fine, D. (1992). Sexual abuse as a factor in adolescent pregnancy and child maltreatment. Family Planning Perspectives, 24, 4–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Breslow, N. E., & Day, N. E. (1980). Statistical methods in cancer research: Vol. I – The analysis of case-control studies. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer.Google Scholar
Bretherton, I. (1985). Attachment theory: Retrospect and prospect. In I. Bretherton & E. Waters (Eds.), Growing points of attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50, (1–2, Serial No. 209). 3–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, J. R., & Burton, L. M. (1990). Rethinking teenage childbearing: Is sexual abuse a missing link? Family Relations, 39, 73–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlson, V., Cicchetti, D., Barnett, D., & Braunwald, K. (1989). Disorganized/disoriented attachment relationships in maltreated infants. Developmental Psychology, 25, 525–531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Rizley, R. (1981). Developmental perspectives on the etiology, intergenerational transmission, and sequelae of child maltreatment. In R. Rizley & D. Cicchetti (Eds.), Developmental perspectives on child development. New Directions for Child Development, 11, 31–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coll, C. G., Vohr, B. R., Hoffman, J., & Oh, W. (1986). Maternal and environmental factors affecting developmental outcome of infants of adolescent mothers. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 7, 230–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Egeland, B. D., Jacobvitz, D., & Papatola, K. (1987). Intergenerational continuity of abuse. In Gelles, R. & Lancaster, J. (Eds.), Child abuse and neglect: Biosocial dimensions (pp. 255–276). New York: Aldine de Gruytem.Google Scholar
Egeland, B., Jacobvitz, D., & Sroufe, A. (1988). Breaking the cycle of abuse. Child Development, 59, 1080–1088.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
English, D. J., Aubin, S. W., Fine, D., & Pecora, P. J. (1993). Improving the accuracy and cultural sensitivity of risk assessment in child abuse and neglect cases. Unpublished manuscript. Office of Children's Administration Research, Children, Youth and Family Services, Department of Social and Health Services, Box 45701, Olympia, WA 98504.Google Scholar
Field, T. M., Widmayer, S. M., Stringer, S., & Ignatoff, E. (1980). Teen-age, lower-class, black mothers and their preterm infants: An intervention and developmental follow-up. Child Development, 51, 426–436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gershenson, H., Musick, J. S., Ruch-Ross, H. S., Magee, V., Rubino, K. K., & Rosenberg, D. (1989). The prevalence of coercive sexual experience among teenage mothers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 4, 204–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodwin, J., McCarthy, T., & DiVasto, P. (1981). Prior incest in mothers of abused children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 5, 87–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hollingshead, A. B. (1975). Four factor index of social status. Unpublished manuscript, Yale University.Google Scholar
Hosmer, D. W., & Lemeshow, S. (1989). Applied logistic regression. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Jones, F. A., Green, V., & Krauss, D. R. (1980). Maternal responsiveness of primiparous mothers during the postpartum period: Age differences. Pediatrics, 65, 579–584.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kcndall-Tackett, K. A., Williams, L. M., & Finkelhor, D. (1993). Impact of sexual abuse on children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 164–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klerman, L. V. (1993). Adolescent pregnancy and parenting: Controversies of the past and lessons for the future. Journal of Adolescent Health, 14, 553–561.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kinard, E. M., & Klerman, I. V. (1980). Teenage parenting and child abuse: Are they related? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 50, 481–488.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawrence, R. A., McAnarney, G. R., Aten, M. J., Iker, H. P., Baldwin, C. P., & Baldwin, A. L. (1981). Aggressive behavior in young mothers: Markers of future morbidity? Pediatric Research, 15, 443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manly, J. T., Cicchetti, D., & Barnett, D. (1994). The impact of subtype, frequency, chronicity, and severity of child maltreatment on social competence and behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 121–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCurdy, K., & Daro, D. (1994). Child maltreatment: A national survey of reports and fatalities. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 9, 75–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehta, C., & Patel, N. (1992). StatXact-Turbo User Manual. Cambridge, MA, Cytel Software Corporation.Google Scholar
NCAST (Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training). (1991). [NCAST normative data summary for the Feeding and Teaching scales]. Unpublished data, University of Washington.Google Scholar
Norusis, M. J. (1993). SPSS for Windows Base System User's Guide, Release 6.0. Chicago: SPSS.Google Scholar
Oz, S., & Fine, M. (1988). A comparison of childhood backgrounds of teenage mothers and their non-mother peers: A new formulation. Journal of Adolescence, 11, 251–261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ragozin, A., Basham, R., Crnic, K., Greenbcrg, M., & Robinson, N. (1982). Effects of maternal age on parenting role. Developmental Psychology, 18, 627–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegelman, M., & Roe, A. (1979). The Parent-Child Relations Questionnaire II: Manual. New York: City College of New York.Google Scholar
Spieker, S. J., & Bensley, L. (1994). Roles of living arrangements and grandmother social support in adolescent mothering and infant attachment. Developmental Psychology, 30, 102–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevens-Simon, C., & McAnarney, E. R. (1994). Childhood victimization: Relationship to adolescent pregnancy outcome. Child Abuse & Neglect, 18, 569–575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stevens-Simon, C., & Reichert, S. (1994). Sexual abuse, adolescent pregnancy, and child abuse. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 148, 23–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Widom, C. S. (1989). Does violence beget violence? A critical examination of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 3–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed