The Effects of Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Adjustment in Latina Women

 

Elisa Judy

Advisor:  Dr. Faith McClure 

California State University, San Bernardino

 

 

 

Abstract

 

The psychological adjustment of a sample of sexually abused, psychologically abused, physically abused, and non-abused Latina female college students were assessed by questionnaire.   Of the 206 students surveyed, 34% reported having experienced some form of sexual abuse during childhood.  The extent of physical and psychological abuse ranged from �none� to �frequently� in any given year during childhood for this sample.  Psychological abuse appeared to have the greatest impact on these participants� adjustment, particularly on their current levels of anxiety.  Psychological abuse also had an impact on depression and on obsessive-compulsive symptoms.  Of interest was the manner in which psychological abuse interacted with the other forms of abuse (physical and sexual) to produce either depression or anxiety.  These results suggest that researchers should evaluate simultaneously the various forms of abuse since they may interact with each other to produce differing psychological outcomes.

The Effects of Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Adjustment in Latina Women

            The literature is replete with studies evaluating various forms of childhood abuse and the impact of this abuse on the short-term and long-term functioning of those who have been victimized.  The studies typically evaluate one or two types of abuse at a time (e.g., Collings, 1995, Everill & Waller, 1995;  Malinosky-Rummell & Hansen, 1993; Kamsner & McCabe, 2000), and most find that childhood maltreatment contributes to adult malfunctioning, including emotional, cognitive, interpersonal, academic, and vocational difficulties.  In recent years there has been greater attention paid to the co-occurrence of various types of maltreatment, (e.g., neglect, physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, witnessing family violence).  In one study with a community sample, Higgins & McCabe (2000) found that family characteristics predicted maltreatment scores.  High correlations existed between the five types of maltreatment they assessed, and maltreatment scores predicted psychological adjustment in their sample.  The family plays a large role in how the individual gauges the severity of his/her abusive experience.  Therefore, it is critical that the family structure be identified and evaluated as a contributing factor that can indirectly foster poor adjustment.  Higgins and McCabe further highlighted the importance of evaluating various types of maltreatment simultaneously.

In addition to the importance of evaluating several types of maltreatment simultaneously, the issue of evaluating the impact of childhood abuse in different groups has been noted. Many of the earlier studies focused largely on caucasian female samples or did not distinguish the gender or race of the participants. There has been more attention in recent years to evaluating both men and women�s responses (see Jumper, 1995), and to include a greater diversity of races in the studies. For example, Gail Wyatt and her colleagues (1985, 1990) have contributed significantly to the literature on child abuse and adjustment in African American samples. While attention to Latino/ Latina samples is growing, these populations have been evaluated less systematically than other population. The research conducted with Latino/Latina has often been epidemiological in nature (e.g., Huston et al., 1995; Kerchner & McShane, 1984; Lindholm & Willey, 1986), or has focused on children and their experiences (Huston et al., 1995; Mennen, 1995, Sanders-Phillips, Moison, Wadlington, Morgan, & English, 1995). In this study, we evaluate the impact of 3 types of abuse, (sexual, physical, and psychological) and it is hypothesized that sexual abuse during childhood will negatively effect the adult adjustment of Latina college students.

Method

Participants

            Participants were 206 Latina college women (M= 24years, range = 18-60 years) recruited from undergraduate and graduate psychology classes and from a mid size Southern California University.  The majority (74%) reported that they were never married.  Of the 206 participants, 34% (70 individuals) reported an experience of sexual abuse in childhood.  For the purposes of this study, sexual abuse was defined as behaviors of a sexual nature occurring between the ages of infancy to age 16 with someone who was at least five years older than the victim (see Finkelhor, 1979).

Procedure   

This study was performed by gathering data generated from college students who participated in exchange for extra credit.  Eligibility was based on college enrollment and declaring Latina decent. Each participant was required to sign an informed consent before participating.  Each person was given a 20-page questionnaire to complete. The questionnaire included three measures; the Family Environment Scale, the Scl-90-R checklist and a measure of psychological well-being.  Each questionnaire took less than 60 minutes to complete.  Each participant was given a debriefing statement that explained the purpose of the study.  In addition, the specific concerns of each participant were addressed by the experimenter, if necessary. A phone number was also distributed should further questions and concerns arise. Finally, all student participants were thanked for their participation.

Materials

Psychological abuse stimulated by maternal behaviors (e.g., yelling, criticizing, humiliating, insulting) (see Briere & Runtz, 1988) was assessed using a Likert scale ranging from 0 (no abuse) to 6 (20 or more abusive episodes in a year).  Physical abuse was also assessed using the same Likert scale. In this section physical abuse involved, but is not limited to, slapping, beating, and kicking. (see Briere & Runtz, 1988). The concept of one�s family and social environment was assessed utilizing the Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1981). The purpose of this ten-subscale system is to interpret actual, preferred and expected social environments. In this study cohesion, conflict, organization and control were assessed using a Likert scale ranging from 1= almost never, to 6= always or almost always.  The result of this measure depicts interpersonal relationship dimensions as well as a system maintenance dimension. The internal consistencies of the subcategories range from  0.67 to 0.78

Somatization, depression, and anxiety were measured using the SCL-90-R symptom checklist (Derogatis, Lipman, Rickels, Uhlenhuth, & Covi, 1974). This self-report inventory reflects symptom patterns and is scored using a five point rating scale of 0-4. Of the nine primary symptoms of distress, only somatization, depression, and anxiety will be examined. Somatization maintains an internal consistency of 0.86.  This category reflects distress from perceived bodily dysfunctions, while depression detects the range of manifested clinical depression, with an internal consistency of 0.90.  The final category reflects the person�s level of anxiety with a consistency of 0.85. Overall, the internal consistency of these measures range from .85 to .90.

Psychological well being was also measured using Ryff�s Scale of Psychological Well-Being.  This scale includes six subdivisions, though only three were evaluated. Ryff�s measures tap environmental mastery, perceived relationship types, and self acceptance utilizing a six point Likert self inventory where 1=disagrees to 6= strongly agrees. The internal consistency for these categories range from .86 to .91

Independent Variable

            The total sample of 206 was divided into two groups. The first group is the experimental group consisting of 70 Latina females attending college who self-reported the incident of sexual abuse during childhood.  The second group consisted of Latina females attending college who did not report the abuse.

Dependent Variable

            The dependent variable measured in this study was one�s psychological well being which was assessed by the SCL-90-R symptoms checklist and Ryff�s Scale of psychological well-being.  In addition, environmental mastery was gauged using the Family Environment Scale.

 

Results

            The mean age of abuse for these participants was 5.89 years (range = 1 to 16 years), and the mean age of the perpetrators was 15.22 years (range = 12 to 60 years). Eighty-nine percent of the perpetrators were identified as male, with 50.5% being identified as a member of the victim�s immediate family and only 8.75 % were identified as strangers (see Table 1). 

            The data were analyzed in a 3x3x2 ANOVA. Sexual abuse was divided into 3 levels that included no sexual abuse, sexual abuse involving no touching (an invitation to do something sexual, a person showing their sexual organs), and sexual abuse involving touch (e.g., fondling, intercourse). Physical abuse was divided into 3 levels that included no physical abuse, physical abuse that occurred once or twice a year, and physical abuse that occurred more than 3 times a year. Psychological abuse was divided into 2 levels using a median split for high and low levels of psychological abuse.

            There was an interaction between physical abuse and psychological abuse on levels of anxiety (F(4,206) = 3.0, p<.05). Participants who experienced high levels of maternal psychological abuse had significantly higher mean levels of anxiety, which was highest for those participants who experienced moderate levels of physical abuse.

            There was an interaction between sexual abuse and psychological abuse on level of anxiety (F(4,206) = 2.81, p<.05). Participants who experienced high levels of maternal psychological abuse had significantly higher mean levels of anxiety, which was highest for those participants who experienced no touch sexual abuse.

            There was an interaction between sexual abuse and psychological abuse on levels of depression (F(4,206) = 3.31, p<.05). Maternal psychological abuse had a significant impact on levels of depression among subjects who either had experienced no sexual abuse or who had experienced sexual abuse involving touch.  Maternal psychological abuse, however, did not have a significant impact on levels of depression among participants who had experienced no touch sexual abuse. That is, maternal psychological abuse impacted anxiety levels for those who experienced no touch sexual abuse but did not impact level of depression.

            There was a significant main effect of maternal psychological abuse on the level of obsessive- compulsive symptoms (F(4,206) = 3.57, p<.05), such that participants who experienced high levels of maternal psychological abuse reported the highest levels of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

                  Discussion                     

             The results of this study suggest that childhood sexual abuse is highly prevalent, with 34% of the respondents indicating past sexual experiences prior to the age of sixteen with someone 5 or more years older than themselves. Although this figure may seem high, it is consistent with previous reports in which prevalence rates for sexual abuse among women ranged from 6% to 62% (Russell, 1986).  What was especially noteworthy is that this report is based on data from Latina college students and that in over 50% of the cases, family members were reported to be the perpetrators. It is likely that given the emphasis on sustaining family loyalty in this population, those experiencing abuse would likely have felt anxious or helpless during these experiences.

            The results of this study are consistent with previous studies that suggest that sexual abuse, physical abuse, and psychological abuse survivors experience greater degrees of psychological distress than those who have not been abused (Higgins & McCabe, 2000).  In this study, the individuals experiencing abuse reported more anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and depression than those who were not abused. Interestingly, the impact of these various forms of abuse exerted their effect on these symptoms in varying ways. Psychological abuse seemed to have the greatest overall impact on the symptoms exhibited, and interacted in some cases with the other forms of abuse.

            In this study, those subjects who experienced high maternal psychological abuse had the highest level of obsessive-compulsive symptoms across all forms of abuse. In addition, subjects who experienced moderate levels of physical abuse combined with high levels of psychological abuse had the higher levels of anxiety than those who either experienced no physical abuse or those who experienced high levels of physical abuse. This data suggests that the perceived or potential threat posed by the high psychological abuse aroused vigilance and anxiety symptoms when occasional physical abuse was present. In the absence of physical abuse there was no need to be vigilant or anxious. Similarly, when abuse was occurring frequently, there was no anxiety or anticipation of abuse since it was already occurring regularly.

             It is interesting to note that depression was the outcome when subjects experienced high levels of maternal psychological abuse with no sexual abuse and with sexual abuse involving touch. This suggests that anxiety or vigilance was not present, rather, that these subjects felt a sense of helplessness and sadness around the experiences they were having.

            In conclusion, anxiety seems to be most aroused in the presence of moderate levels of sexual and physical abuse coupled with high levels of psychological abuse. In contrast, depression seems to be aroused when high psychological abuse is coupled with no sexual abuse or with sexual abuse involving touch. It may be that in the case of anxiety, vigilance for further abuse is what is occurring.  In the second case it may be that a sense of helplessness to bring about change is what is aroused. These results suggest that abuse exerts varying effects on psychological adjustment and has implications for interventions with those who have experienced various forms of childhood maltreatment

            This study extends the research on childhood maltreatment by sampling a Latina college population and simultaneously evaluating several forms of abuse. It is, however, limited by the fact that it focuses on a college population exclusively, and by the fact that it is cross-sectional in nature. Further evaluation of the relationship between traumatic events and psychological adjustment in diverse populations is needed to clarify the relationship among these factors. It would also be important to assess social and interpersonal functioning in these individuals.