Impact of Sexual Abuse, Parent Stress, and Cumulative Trauma on Dissociation in Preschoolers

Abstract
Studies show that children exposed to sexual abuse (SA) exhibit greater levels of dissociation than other trauma categories. Research has also indicated that parents exhibit high levels of stress following a child’s sexual abuse disclosure which can make supporting children difficult. These studies, however, have not included preschool-aged children, have had small, primarily Caucasian samples, and have not looked at how parenting stress impacts dissociation in their children.

The present study examined the impacts of sexual abuse, cumulative trauma, and parenting stress on dissociation in preschool-aged children. The sample included children ages 1-6 (n = 544; 46% male) from racially diverse backgrounds; 73 (13%) endorsed having experienced SA. All children were part of a larger treatment-seeking sample of families exposed to at least one traumatic event. Parenting stress, cumulation of child’s traumatic experiences, and child dissociation symptoms, were measured using the Parenting Stress Index 4 (PSI-4), Traumatic Events Screening Inventory (TESI), and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC), respectively.

Results from a linear regression with child gender, age, SA history, cumulative trauma, and PSI score as predictors revealed positive main effects of parenting stress and cumulative trauma on children’s dissociative symptoms. There was no main effect of SA and no interactions between SA and other predictors. These results indicated that parenting stress and cumulative trauma may play a bigger role in a children dissociation symptoms than history of child abuse. These findings suggest that treatment providers working with children experiencing dissociation should also focus on the stress felt by the parent.