Résultats de recherche

1. Objectifs

Intentions :
Cette thèse par articles «vise à documenter les difficultés vécues par les enfants d’âge préscolaire ayant vécu une agression sexuelle (AS).» (p. ix) Le premier article «vise à comparer les représentations d’attachement d’enfants d’âge préscolaire victimes d’AS avec celles d’enfants non-victimes.» (p. 21) Cet article a aussi comme «objectif d’évaluer le lien entre la victimisation sexuelle dans l’enfance des mères et les représentations actuelles d’attachement de leur enfant. [De son côté, le] deuxième article [vise à] explorer l’impact des représentations d’attachement sur l’adaptation des enfants en termes de problèmes intériorisés et extériorisés par le biais d’un suivi sur une période d’un an.» (p. 22) Le lien entre ces problèmes et les expériences de victimisations sexuelles des mères est également évalué.

Questions/Hypothèses :
Pour le premier article, la «principale hypothèse de recherche postule que les enfants d’âge préscolaire victimes d’AS auront des scores plus élevés sur l’échelle de désorganisation que leurs pairs non-victimes.» (p. 21) En outre, l’auteure émet «l’hypothèse que les enfants, dont les mères ont elles-mêmes été victimisées durant l’enfance, auront des scores plus élevés sur les échelles d’attachement insécurisant.» (p. 22) Pour le deuxième article, elle suppose «que les représentations d’attachement lors de l’évaluation initiale agiront comme médiateur et contribueront à la prédiction des troubles intériorisés et extériorisés évalués un an plus tard.» (p. 23)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Un échantillon de 391 enfants âgés de 41 à 75 mois (M = 58,5; ET= 8,5), dont 258 agressés sexuellement (208 filles et 50 garçons) et 133 non agressés sexuellement (96 filles et 3 7 garçons), a été recruté. Les enfants ayant vécu une AS ont été recrutés dans deux sites spécialisés, soit le Centre d’expertise Marie-Vincent et la clinique de pédiatrie socio-juridique du Centre Hospitalier Ste-Justine, lors de leur premier rendez-vous médical à la suite du dévoilement (taux d’acceptation de 90%). Le groupe de comparaison a été recruté dans les Centres de la petite enfance et les garderies de la région de Montréal, sélectionnés dans des quartiers présentant des caractéristiques sociodémographiques semblables à celles du groupe d’enfants victimes (taux d’acceptation de 78%). […] Les données ont été recueillies auprès de deux sources, soit auprès du parent et de l’enfant.» (p. 23-24)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

For the first article, the «results revealed that CSA [child sexual abuse] preschoolers presented significantly higher levels of attachment disorganization compared to non-abused children, and that abused boys were at particular risk for hyperactivation and disorganization. Associations between mothers’ history of CSA and children’s attachment representations were non-significant.» (p. 30) Indeed, «[a]lthough there was a higher prevalence of CSA in mothers of abused children relative to mothers of non-abused children (42.9% vs. 11.3%), no differences were found in terms of child attachment representations. […] One hypothesis is that the association between maternal victimization and insecure attachment in children may exist mostly within the limits of severe CSA experiences.» (p. 46) For the second article, «[d]isorganized attachment partially mediated the relation between CSA and children’s internalizing and externalizing behavior problems one year following the initial assessment. This mediation effect was not found for ambivalent nor secure attachment dimensions. Child gender was found to moderate the association between CSA and disorganization, with larger effects of CSA among boys.» (p. 64) Moreover, «[m]aternal history of CSA and SES [socio-economic status] were found to be associated with child externalizing behavior problems. […] It appears that mothers’ CSA is an important variable to consider in the perspective of intergenerational transmission of risk. Indeed, parents who have experienced childhood trauma may be less able to offer support to their child due to their own difficulties in regulating emotions […].» (p. 79-80)

1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The main objective of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of attachment representations in the association between CSA [child sexual abuse] and preschoolers’ outcomes in terms of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems over a 1-year period.» (p. 473)

Questions/Hypothèses :
Attachment «representations were hypothesized to mediate the associations between CSA and behavior problems in preschool children. We also hypothesized that gender moderates the association between CSA and attachment representations, with CSA having a larger effect on boys’ attachment representations than on girls’.» (p. 473)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«A sample of 258 sexually abused children, 208 girls and 50 boys [and] their nonoffending caregiver (90% a maternal figure) was assessed at Time 1 (T1), after the disclosure of CSA, at two specialized intervention centers in Montreal, Canada. […] A comparison group of 133 nonabused children [including] 96 girls and 37 boys, was recruited in daycare centers and kindergartens in the Montreal area […].» (p. 473)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

Firstly, more «disorganized attachment representations at T1 were associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms at T2, 1 year later. These results are consistent with previous studies in suggesting that disorganized attachment in CSA victims can act as a risk factor for the development of various negative outcomes [and] provide more convincing evidence for this link due to the study’s longitudinal design. Moreover, disorganized attachment was found to partially mediate the relation between CSA and both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems 1 year following the first assessment.» (p. 477) «The security and ambivalence scales, in contrast, were not associated with behavior problems. These results are in line with the literature establishing that disorganization is associated with more dysfunctional patterns of behavior compared to other forms of attachment insecurity […].» (p. 478) The analysis «also point to gender differences in the outomes of preschool CSA victims. Child gender was found to moderate the association between CSA and disorganization, with larger detrimental effects of CSA in boys.» (p. 478) Overall, these results show that «attachment representations did not completely mediate the association between CSA and behavior problems. This can be explained by the presence of a direct effect of CSA on behavior problems, but also suggests that other variables may intervene.» (p. 479)

1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The main objective of the present study was to contrast attachment representations in sexually abused and non-abused preschoolers. […] The second objective was to evaluate the relation between mothers’ CSA [child sexual abuse] and children’s attachment representations among abused and non-abused children.» (p. 477)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«Based on the results of previous studies on maltreatment and CSA, it was expected that sexually abused children would present higher levels of attachment disorganization than children in the comparison group. [Moreover, it] was expected that attachment insecurity would be greater in children whose mothers report a history of victimization.» (p. 477)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«A sample of 258 (49 boys) sexually abused preschoolers (M = 4.46 years old; SD = 0.76) and their non-offending parents (90% a maternal figure) were recruited in two specialized intervention settings, in Montreal, Canada. [Furthermore, a] sample of 133 (37 boys) non-abused children (M = 4.35 years old; SD = 0.68) was recruited in daycare centers and kindergartens in the Montreal area and served as a comparison group.» (p. 477-478)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Results indicated that sexually abused preschoolers presented significantly higher levels of hyperactivation and disorganization in their stories compared to non-abused children. Hyperactivation is characterized by the absence of constructive resolutions due to an overflow of emotions and by an emphasis on negative aspects in the stories. As for disorganization, stories generally imply violent and catastrophic themes, loss of control, as well as unprotective parents.» (p. 484) The «results did not replicate […] findings regarding the association between mothers’ history of sexual abuse and children’s attachment. Although there was a higher prevalence of CSA in mothers of abused children relative to mothers of non-abused children (42.9% vs. 11.3%), no differences were found in terms of child attachment representations. […] One hypothesis is that the association between maternal victimization and insecure attachment in children may exist mostly within the limits of severe CSA experiences. Moreover, mothers’ caregiving attitude may be affected differently depending on whether their own abuse involved a family member or not, which could consequently have an impact on the parent–child relationship and affect child attachment.» (p. 486)