Emotion Regulation in Sexually Abused Preschoolers: The Contribution of Parental Factors.
J Trauma Stress
; 29(2): 180-4, 2016 Apr.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26915665
ABSTRACT
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with emotion regulation deficits in childhood. Parents play a crucial role in the development of emotion regulation in their children, especially at younger ages. Close to 50% of mothers of sexually abused children report having been sexually victimized themselves as children. They are consequently at risk of experiencing significant distress following the disclosure of sexual abuse of their child. Parents' distress could interfere with their ability to provide support and to foster development of emotion regulation in their children. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship of parental factors (history of sexual victimization in childhood and the current level of distress) to sexually abused preschoolers' emotion regulation competencies. Emotion regulation was assessed in 153 preschoolers by their parents with the Emotion Regulation Checklist; 75 of these children were abused (14 boys); 78 were not abused (21 boys) and were part of a comparison group. Parents reported their level of distress using the Psychiatric Symptom Index. Results indicated that parental factors contributed to some dimensions of preschoolers' emotion regulation (namely displays of underregulation of emotion) above and beyond children's victimization status and gender (Cohen's ƒ(2) = .15). Identifying parental distress and history of sexual victimization as positively associated with emotional dysregulation in preschool children victims of CSA has important research and clinical implications.
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Parents
/
Child Abuse, Sexual
/
Crime Victims
/
Emotions
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
J Trauma Stress
Journal subject:
PSICOLOGIA
Year:
2016
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Canada