1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The present study intends to clarify variability in the needs of mothers of children who have disclosed CSA [child sexual abuse]. The first objective aims to document whether the mother’s mental health varies as a function of her own experiencing of CSA, as defined by trauma-related symptoms, namely, PTSD [posttraumatic stress disorder] and dissociation as well as their co-occurrence; and in contrast to a more general measure of psychological distress. Second, this study aims to test a mediation model that explores various processes underlying mothers’ psychological distress (PTSD, dissociation, and their co-occurrence) following children’s unveiling of CSA.» (p. NP5789)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The sample consisted of 298 Canadian French-speaking nonoffending mothers recruited between 2006 and 2016 in four different intervention sites within the province of Quebec, Canada. Families were recruited as their child was receiving services following the disclosure of the CSA to authorities, either to child protection services or the police. […] Mothers were aged between 23 and 56 years (M = 35.78, SD = 6.29) and had between one and 10 children (M = 3.10, SD = 1.5).» (p. NP5789-NP5790)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

The «findings reveal that mothers with a CSA history were more prone to have been exposed to interparental violence. On the contrary, mothers with a CSA history were not more likely to be exposed to current or recent partner violence than mothers with no CSA. […] In terms of mental health, results outline the advantage of using different measures assessing mothers’ distress to obtain a clear picture of the continuum of difficulties as [the] prevalence rates of distress vary considerably between a general measure of psychological distress (57.8%) and trauma-related symptoms (22% to 23%). […] Regarding mothers’ exposure to CSA, [results] indicated that the only difference that was found between mothers with and without a CSA history was the level of dissociation, which was higher in mothers with a CSA history. [Moreover, the] path analysis models indicate that current or recent partner violence and exposure to interparental violence as a child appear as equally important predictors of mothers’ mental health than mothers’ history of CSA. Indeed, similar to CSA history, exposure to interparental violence came out as an important predictor that is directly related to symptoms of dissociation but that also predicts comorbidity.» (p. NP5799-NP5800)