1. Data Analytic Strategy and Results
Parents’ Negative Expectations for Child Sexual Abuse Victim Recovery: Abuse Severity and Child Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior Problems as Predictors
Kate Theimer, Kelsey McCoy, Katie Meidlinger, Jessica K. Pogue, Brittany Biles, Emily Sonnen, Terrence Z. Huit, Mary Fran Flood, & David J. Hansen
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Introduction
Data Analytic Strategy and Results
Data Analytic Strategy
Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques with Maximum Likelihood estimation. Data analyses were conducted in two phases. First, preliminary analyses were conducted and descriptive statistics were obtained to determine whether the data met the basic assumptions of SEM. Second, data analysis included the testing of the conceptual model. A bootstrap approach was implemented.
Association among Measures
Descriptive statistics and correlations are reported in Table 1. Abuse severity was positively associated with externalizing problems. Externalizing problems were positively associated with internalizing problems. Externalizing and internalizing problems were positively associated with parents’ negative expectations. All other relationships were not significant.
Results of Structural Equation Modeling
The model was just identified. The 95% confidence interval [.07, 1.47] for the indirect effect of abuse severity on expectations via child externalizing problems reveals a positive indirect effect. The indirect effect of abuse severity on expectations via internalizing problems was absent. The model accounted for 20.4% of the variance in expectations. The direct effect of abuse severity on negative expectations was not significant, however, mediation was present through externalizing problems. Thus, externalizing problems function as a mechanism that links CSA severity to parent expectations, an association that would have otherwise been overlooked.
After a youth’s disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA), many non-offending parents hold negative expectations for their child’s future well-being and these negative expectations may have iatrogenic effects on child recovery (Holguin & Hansen, 2003). Therefore, parent expectations are an important area of intervention and understanding the predictors of expectations allows clinicians to target their source.
The aim of the study was to identify what factors influence parents’ expectations for their child’s future functioning prior to engaging in a CSA intervention. Tested by a mediation model, it was hypothesized that CSA severity influences parents’ negative expectations by increasing both child internalizing and externalizing problems which, in turn, are each uniquely related to parents’ expectations (conceptual model depicted in Figure 1).
Figure  1. Conceptual Model. Child internalizing behaviors as well as externalizing behaviors mediate the link between severity of abuse and parents’ negative expectations for their child’s future functioning.
Table 1. Observed Study Variables: Descriptive Statistics and Correlations
Abuse Severity
Internalizing
Externalizing
Expectations -
.073
.124*
.596***
.046
.356***
.451*** M
Less severe = 110 (41.35%)
More severe = 156 (58.65%)
60.996
59.381
19.917 SD
11.300
11.392
7.015 N
266
278
286
Method
Participants
Participants were 286 non-offending caregivers of sexually abused youth presenting to Project SAFE (Sexual Abuse Family Education), a 12-week cognitive-behavioral (CBT) group treatment program (Hubel et al., 2014). Caregivers were 23 to 72 years old (M = 37.82, SD = 7.65), 82.9% female, and 82.2% identified as European American. Youth were 4 to 19 years old (M = 11.33, SD = 3.26), 77.3% female, and 70.3% identified as European American.
Materials and Measures
Parent Sexual Abuse Expectations Scale (PSAES; Meidlinger, West Hubel, & Hansen, 2012) assesses caregivers’ expectations for the sexual abuse’s future negative impact on the child.
Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 2001) measures parent-reported child behavioral and emotional problems. The internalizing and externalizing problems subscales were used.
Child History Form collects information from the parent on the child’s history of sexual abuse. The abuse severity variable was based on whether or not the child experienced any form of penetration during their victimization.
Procedure
Project SAFE is a clinical and research collaboration between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Child Advocacy Center which serves families impacted by sexual abuse in southeast Nebraska. Assessment batteries were administered prior to treatment.
* p < ** p < *** p < .001
Discussion
Overall, with the presence of disruptive behavior, parents hold more negative expectations for their child’s future well-being following severe abuse. Parents may perceive externalizing problems as worrisome, as these behaviors likely cause significant disruption. Clinicians may decide to concurrently address child externalizing problems and parents’ negative expectations in CSA treatment. Moreover, CBT utilizing innovative technology (e.g., telehealth) could help disseminate psychoeducation on how expectations impact CSA victims and increase accessibility to interventions targeting predictors of negative expectations.
Figure 2. Child externalizing behaviors mediated the link between severity of abuse and parents’ negative expectations for their child’s future functioning. Unstandardized coefficients are reported.