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Security in Father-child Relationship and Behavior Problems in Sexually Abused Children

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Abstract

While the influence of mother-child relationships on children’s recovery following sexual abuse has been documented, less is known about the possible contribution of father-child relationships on outcomes. The present study explored the contribution of children’s perception of security in their relationship to the father on internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, while controlling for socio-demographic variables and variables associated with the mother-child relationship. Participants were 142 children who disclosed sexual abuse involving a perpetrator other than the biological father. Regression analyses indicated that children’s perception of security to fathers contributed to the prediction of parental reports of children’s behavior problems, even after controlling for maternal psychological distress and perception of security to mothers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada

    Claudel Parent-Boursier

  2. Département de sexologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Martine Hébert

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  1. Claudel Parent-Boursier
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  2. Martine Hébert
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Correspondence to Martine Hébert.

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This article is part of the first author’s thesis submitted in partial recognition of a doctoral degree. This research was funded by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR # 77614) awarded to Martine Hébert. The authors wish to thank the children and the parents who participated in this study, members of the Socio-Legal Paediatric Clinic - CHU Ste-Justine, specially Anne-Claude Bernard-Bonnin, M.D. and Claire Allard-Dansereau, M.D., as well as practitioners from the Centre d’Intervention en Abus Sexuels pour la Famille (CIASF) and the Centre d’Expertise Marie-Vincent.

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Parent-Boursier, C., Hébert, M. Security in Father-child Relationship and Behavior Problems in Sexually Abused Children. J Fam Viol 30, 113–122 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-014-9653-y

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