Mother-Daughter Sexual Communication: Differences by Maternal Sexual Victimization History

Abstract

Women who experience childhood sexual victimization (CSV) report more problems with sexuality and with parenting during adulthood. Consequently, mothers with a CSV history may have particular difficulty with parent-child sexual communication. We examine this possibility in 184 diverse, low-income mother-adolescent daughter dyads. Mothers and daughters reported on the frequency, tone, and comfort of their sexual communication. Using dyadic approaches to analyses, we tested whether mothers' and daughters' reports, and their level of agreement, differ by maternal CSV history. In dyads with maternal CSV, daughters reported more frequent communication in which they felt less embarrassed, and they perceived their mothers as less embarrassed. Mothers with a CSV history were also more accurate in judging how their daughters feel during sexual communication. Although CSV is associated with many negative outcomes, our results suggest mothers with CSV may approach mother-daughter sexual communication in ways that could reduce sexual risk in offspring.

Keywords: childhood sexual abuse; childhood sexual victimization; sexual communication.

Figure 1.

Mean difference scores between mothers and daughters’ reports on communication frequency, communication tone, and mothers and daughters’ discomfort. Difference scores reflect the difference between reporter scores (e.g., mother report minus daughter report of frequency).