Reported anxieties concerning intimate parenting in women sexually abused as children

Abstract

Objective: The study had two aims: (1) To investigate whether mothers with a history of contact child sexual abuse were anxious about the intimate aspects of parenting compared with a clinical comparison group. (2) To determine if there was any relationship between the mother’s anxieties and the kind of parenting they recalled receiving themselves. Method: Two groups of mothers in mental health out-patient care were interviewed; 34 women with a history of contact child sexual abuse and 29 women with no history of sexual abuse. They completed the Intimate Aspects of Parenting Questionnaire, The Parenting Stress Index (Short form) The Parental Bonding Instrument and The General Health Questionnaire–28. The index group also completed a sexual abuse history questionnaire. Results: Mothers with a history of child sexual abuse were significantly more anxious about intimate aspects of parenting than the comparison group. They also reported significantly more overall stress as parents. The index group recalled that their own parents were significantly less caring and that their fathers more controlling than the comparison group. A low score on Father Care was significantly associated with concerns about intimate parenting, but not with total parenting stress. By contrast, a low score on Mother Care was significantly associated with higher stress experienced as a parent, but not as strongly with anxieties about intimate parenting. Conclusions: Mothers with a history of contact child sexual abuse who attend mental health services are often worried that their normal parenting behaviors may be inappropriate or seen as such by other people. These anxieties seem associated with their history of childhood sexual abuse.