Citation

Deblinger E, Steer R, Lippmann J. Child Maltreat. 1999; 4(1): 13-20.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559599004001002

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The potential influence of maternal adjustment and parenting style on children's psychological adjustment following sexual abuse was examined. A battery of standardized parent and child self-report instruments were administered to 100 sexually abused children and their nonoffending mothers. The results of a series of multiple regression analyses indicated that the maternal self-reported depression significantly contributed to the expression of both post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and parent-reported internalizing behavior problems in sexually abused children. In addition, children's perceptions of their mothers' parenting style as rejecting rather than accepting contributed to the children's self-reported levels of depression. Children's perceptions of maternal use of guilt and anxiety-provoking parenting methods contributed to increased levels of PTSD symptoms and parent-reported externalizing behavior problems. These findings are discussed in terms of their research and treatment implications.

Language: en