Le sentiment de compétence parentale des mères victimes d’abus sexuel(s) infantile(s) : un modèle structural

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of childhood sexual abuse on the parental sense of competence and to propose a structural model, taking into account the cumulative effect of the different types of abuse.

Participants and method

The participants were 1904 mothers of children aged 3 to 8. They were asked to complete an online form that included a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form (CTQ-SF), and the Questionnaire d’Auto-Évaluation de la Compétence Éducative Parentale (QAECEP).

Results

Our results confirm the link between sexual abuse and intrafamilial abuse. They suggest that the experience of childhood sexual abuse impacts mothers' parental sense of competence when it occurs in situations of multiple and severe abuses. Furthermore, our statistical analyses indicate that maternal psychological well-being and the presence of child disorders mediate the association between the mother's childhood experience and her parental sense of competence.

Discussion

It seems that the parental sense of competence is impacted by sexual abuse when it is part of multiple traumas leading to symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychological well-being of the mother and the absence of disorders in the child demonstrates a protective role in the parental sense of competence of mothers with histories of childhood abuse. These findings have implications for interventions for mothers experiencing parenting difficulties. Our results suggest that taking into account the parental sense of competence and the childhood experiences is essential for providing appropriate interventions.

Conclusions

This study confirms the importance of integrating the mother's childhood experiences to better understand her parenting difficulties and to be able to intervene on her difficulties of traumatic origin.