“I Was Trying to Be the Mother to Her That I Didn’t Have”: Mothers’ Experiences of Child Sexual Abuse and Intergenerational Maltreatment

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) can have lasting negative impacts on one's sense of safety and trust, ultimately affecting the quality of relationships, and increasing the likelihood of future victimization experiences. The present study provides a qualitative description of the themes that were generated through interviews conducted with 23 mothers who experienced CSA (dis)continuity (12 continuity, 11 discontinuity). The mothers described a variety of experiences related to parent–child and romantic relationships and parenting behaviors, which could be further researched and targeted by interventions to reduce the risk of intergenerational cycles of maltreatment.