Citation

Esparza DV, Esperat MC. J. Obstet. Gynecol. Neonatal Nurs. 1996; 25(4): 321-328.

Affiliation

Vel Center, Austin, Texas.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8708833

Abstract

In 2 urban areas of Texas, 124 mothers, 13-20 years old, all but 6% of whom were Mexican American or African American, were recruited from 4 public agencies to a study designed to determine the incidence and effects of childhood sexual abuse on the lives of these adolescent mothers. The study used the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI) to compare the personality characteristics of those mothers who had experienced sexual abuse with their nonabused counterparts. Most adolescent mothers were single (80%), lived with their parents (63%), were pregnant for the first time (56%), currently attended school (84%), and lived in a family whose annual income was less than $12,000. 44% of the mothers had experienced some form of childhood sexual abuse. More than 50% reported oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with their abusers. The abusers tended to be male (97%) and known to the victim (66%). Male strangers accounted for 19% of abusers. The researchers were able to use data from 111 subjects to compare the 2 groups. The abused adolescent mothers always had clinically and statistically significant poorer scores than nonabused mothers. Abused mothers had greater difficulties in self-concept (p 0.0001), self-esteem (p = 0.004), body comfort (p = 0.002), sexual acceptance (p = 0.002), peer security (p = 0.002), and family rapport (p = 0.002). They also had clinically significant lower levels of academic confidence (p = 0.018), social conformity (p = 0.035), scholastic achievement (p 0.0001), and attendance consistency (p = 0.002). When researchers controlled for the effect of the Life Event Scale-Adolescents, abused mothers had differences that were significantly different than those of nonabused mothers (p = 0.001). These findings suggest that nurses within prenatal or well-baby care agencies should guide adolescent mothers who experienced childhood sexual abuse as they learn to communicate with their family or refer them to existing support services. It is important to ask adolescent mothers about a history of sexual abuse.

Language: en