Les pratiques parentales maternelles et la symptomatologie des enfants victimes d’agression sexuelle d’âge préscolaire

Child sexual abuse victims may present diverse adjustment problems (Beitchman et al., 1991; Briere & Elliott, 1994) that may persist into adulthood (Putnam, 2003). To promote the recovery of these children and prevent the intergenerational cycle of sexual abuse, it is important to focus on protective factors that can diminish their sequelae. Parenting practices constitute a key factor in child development and in the victims’ capacity to deal with the abuse suffered (Ullman, 2003; Yancey & Hansen, 2010). In the present study, focus was placed on parenting practices that are generally less studied, namely, psychological control (PC), limiting control (LC) and autonomy support (AS). Also, the examination of the factors associated with these practices and their impact on child development had for purpose to better understand the difficulties that these families may face so as to develop more adequate clinical interventions that are better suited for their specific needs.   The objectives of this thesis were : 1) to validate a parental behavior coding system for preschool aged children, 2) to document the link between PC, LC, concept that we proposed in this study, and AS in order to clarify conceptual inconsistencies and methodological biases noted in previous studies, 3) to compare the parenting practices of mothers whose child has been sexually abused with those of mothers whose child has not been abused, 4) to examine the link between mothers’ childhood maltreatment and traumatic events, psychological distress and parenting practices and 5) to examine the relationship between parenting practices and children’s psychological adjustment. A sample composed of 22 preschool aged sexually abused children recruited at the Centre d’expertise Marie-Vincent (CEMV) and 79 non abused children recruited in Centres de la petite enfance (CPE) of disadvantaged areas of Montreal, as well as their mothers, participated in the study. Mothers’ psychological distress, childhood maltreatment, traumatic experiences before and after 18 years of age and their inductive and coercive conduct were measured using self-reported questionnaires by the mothers. Mothers and nursery educators also completed a questionnaire on the child’s symptomatology. Finally, a parental behavior coding system allowed the measurement of parenting practices during an observational procedure. Results show that the psychometric properties of the proposed rating system are satisfactory. Also, correlations between the main scales of the rating system and the results of factor analyses reveal that psychological control, limiting control and autonomy support are independent constructs, as hypothesized. The comparison of maternal behavior show that mothers of sexually abused children display similar practices as those of mothers whose child has not been sexually abused. Also, links were found between traumatic experiences and past abuse by mothers, her psychological distress and the practices displayed with her child. Finally, inductive strategies are associated with less externalized problems reported by mothers while  coercive strategies are related to more externalized problems, according to the child’s educator. In order to increase the potential for a child to develop optimally and prevent the intergenerational transmission of sexual maltreatment, it is important to understand non-perpetrating mothers’ functioning and their parenting practices. The results of this study allowed to better document the conduct of mothers whose child was sexually abused. Also, explanations are proposed in regards to the different determinants obtained for child-centered (inductive) versus parent-centered (coercive) conduct. The identification of these risk factors may contribute to a more adequate prevention and intervention with these families and is even more crucial given the negative impact of some practices on the adjustment of their child, as shown in the present research.

Keyphrases: parenting practices, psychological control, autonomy support, sexual abuse, internalized problems, externalized problems, preschool age