The Intergenerational Transmission of Risk for Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

This study inspected the strength of different risk factors for childhood sexual abuse among 179 preadolescent girls (M age = 9 years). The families in our study were oversampled for spousal violence. Mothers and daughters were interviewed about the daughters' experience with sexual abuse and their narratives were coded. When maternal and child reports were collapsed, 18% of the girls were victims of sexual abuse. Included among the risk factors for sexual abuse were interparental violence, family isolation and residential mobility, whether a stepfather was in the home, and maternal and paternal problems including drug use, psychopathology, and a prior history of sexual abuse. Girls in our sample whose mothers were sexually abused were 3.6 times more likely to be sexually victimized. Maternal sexual abuse history combined with maternal drug use placed daughters at the most elevated risk (odds ratio = 23.7). Maternal sexual abuse history indicates a strong potential for the intergenerational transmission of child sexual abuse.