Isadora Klamt da Conceição

Abstract

Child sexual abuse is one of the most re current forms of mistreatment, and a serious public health problem. The importance of family relationships in this theme is well established. Nevertheless, there is a lack in studies addressing the specific aspects that underlie the intergenerational transmission of abused children. In this context, the aim of the study was to investigate the intergenerational transmission of child sexual abuse. To this end, two studies, one empirical and other theoretical have been performed. The theoretical study provides a systematic review of the prevalence of intergenerational transmission of sexual abuse. Data on the increase of intergenerational transmission in different generations of family were found. The mean prevalence of intergenerational transmission of sexual abuse in generations was: 42.47% in the generation of grandparents, 41,28% in the generation of mothers and 51,0% in the generation of children. The empirical study, in turn, examined the relationship between the type of attachment and parenting style and its relation to the intergenerational transmission of child sexual abuse. For this a quantitative research with cross-sectional design with three different groups of girls and their mothers was conducted. The first group comprised girls who have suffered abuse; the second was composed by girls who suffered mistreatment and their mothers and the third included girls who displayed clinical symptoms and their mothers. The results did not confirm the intergenerational transmission of attachment types, or the parenting style across different generations. Similarly and different than expected, the abused girls no reported more insecure attachment or poor parenting style. However, tow significant predictors were found to agree with the model of intergenerational transmission of child sexual abuse: the type of maternal attachment and the fact that parents are separated.