Mothers with a history of abuse tend to show more impulsiveness

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect 2009-03, Vol.33 (3), p.123-126
• Main Authors: Möhler, E, Matheis, V, Poustka, L, Marysko, M, Finke, P, Kaufmann, C, Reck, C, Cierpka, M, Resch, F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child Abuse; Child abuse & neglect; Child Abuse, Sexual; Child Development; Child Sexual Abuse; Childhood abuse; Childhood Factors; Childhood sexual abuse; Children; Conceptual Tempo; Family environment. Family history; Female; Foreign Countries; Humans; Impulsive Behavior - psychology; Impulsiveness; Infant; Intergenerational transmission; Male; Maternal Behavior; Medical sciences; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Parents; Pediatrics; Physical abuse; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk; Risk Factors; Sex crimes; Sexual Abuse; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Victimology; Violence; West Germany (Heidelberg)
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.06.002

Background: Maternal history of abuse is a postulated risk factor for child maltreatment. However, there have been no case-control studies on maternal impulsiveness in a larger sample of mothers with a history of abuse. Method: Women in the area of Heidelberg giving birth to a child between May 2005 and June 2007 were contacted by mail and presented with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Women who reached a cut-off for moderate or severe sexual and/or physical abuse and whose children were term babies with APGAR-Scores greater than 7 were included in the study to form the index group (n=58). Maternal impulsiveness was assessed at 12 months child age. Results: The results show that mothers with a history of physical or sexual abuse--matched for infant gender, maternal education, marital status, number of infants and birth weight--show significantly more impulsiveness. Conclusions: Maternal history of abuse significantly increases maternal impulsiveness, which has been frequently postulated but never empirically shown in a prospective design. These data underline the necessity to intensify early preventive efforts in mothers with a history of abuse and their young children. Practice implications: These findings identify increased impulsiveness in mothers with a history of abuse as a potential risk factor that should be considered in clinical and counselling settings. (Contains 1 table.)