Maternal Child Sexual Abuse Is Associated With Lower Maternal Warmth Toward Daughters but Not Sons

ABSTRACT

Mothers with a history of child sexual abuse report less warmth toward their children, but whether this association differs by child gender is unknown. We examined the association of maternal child sexual abuse and warmth across child gender, accounting for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and child physical abuse. We verbally administered self-report measures to a cross-sectional sample of 154 mothers with a child between 8 and 12 years old. Eighty-five mothers based warmth responses on a son, and 69 on a daughter. We conducted a hierarchical multiple regression, including child gender, maternal child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and 4 two-way interaction terms with child gender. Maternal depression predicted decreased warmth, regardless of child gender, and maternal child sexual abuse predicted decreased warmth, but only toward daughters. Given previous research suggesting that maternal warmth predicts child well-being, the current finding may represent an important avenue of intergenerational transmission of risk in girls.

KEYWORDS:

• Child sexual abuse
• gender
• intergenerational risk
• maternal depression
• parenting

Acknowledgment

We thank the Grady Trauma Project research staff and coordinators, Angelo Brown, Allen W. Graham, and Rebecca Roffman as well as the nurses in the Clinical Research Network of Grady Health Systems

Funding

This work was supported by funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (MH018264), the National Institute of Mental Health (MH100122-01; MH071537), and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (MH018264), the National Institute of Mental Health (MH100122-01; MH071537), and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Notes on contributors

Dorthie Cross

Dorthie Cross, PhD, Department of Psychology, Georgia Southern University.

Ye Ji Kim

Ye Ji Kim, BA, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.

L. Alexander Vance

L. Alexander Vance, MA, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.

Gabriella Robinson

Gabriella Robinson, BA, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.

Tanja Jovanovic

Tanja Jovanovic, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.

Bekh Bradley

Bekh Bradley, PhD, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.