Parenting Stress in Non-Offending Caregivers of Sexually Abused Children

ABSTRACT

The non-offending caregiver (NOC) population is under studied despite their role in the recovery of child victim-survivors of sexual abuse. Research suggests that NOCs experience significant distress following a child’s disclosure of sexual abuse. Trauma has been demonstrated to negatively impact the caregiver-child relationship. This study informs about common NOC stress reactions in response to child sexual abuse (CSA) disclosures and has clinical implications for treating families affected by CSA. Participants included 66 NOCs (age 23–66, M = 41.09, SD = 10.26) who participated in clinical intakes at a CSA treatment program and completed a self-report measure of parenting stress. Depending on the child’s age, NOCs were administered either the Parenting Stress Index-fourth edition, Short Form (PSI-4-SF) or the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents (SIPA). NOCs reported higher than average parenting stress. Statistically significant differences between the clinical and normative samples were found on all PSI-4-SF domains and on majority of SIPA domains. High to Clinically Significant scores were reported by 42% of NOCs for Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction. Stress related to their child’s social withdrawal was reported by 56% of NOCs. This study provides comparison data for evaluations of NOCs. NOCs may require treatment and family-based approaches are implicated.

KEYWORDS:

• Child sexual abuse
• non-offending caregivers
• parenting stress
• secondary trauma

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the families affected by CSA and the non-offending caregivers who agreed to contribute to the advancement of treatment through participation in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Morgan Amanda Davies

Morgan Amanda Davies, M.S., is a Doctoral Candidate in the Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) program at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL.

Demara Beth Bennett

Demara Beth Bennett, Psy.D., is licensed psychologist and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL. She is the Director of the Family Learning Program, a sexual abuse treatment program in Melbourne, FL.