Mothers will experience a range of
emotional reactions following the
disclosure that a child has been
sexually abused. These usually include
shock,
fear anger,
anxiety,
sadness, and confusion. Mothers may process through the stages of
grief. This process may last weeks, months, or years. The length of time and severity of symptoms are dependent on the
resilience of the mother,
coping and
self-care resources,
support, and other factors. Some of these factors include the age of child, severity of abuse, length of time of abuse, and
identity of
perpetrator.
Mothers may also demonstrate symptoms that meet the criteria for mental health disorders. The mother's well-being is critical to the recovery of the child victim.
Maternal support has been shown to be the most important predictive factor in reducing negative
consequences of the abuse to victims. It is important that the needs of mothers be addressed following disclosure and that they receive ongoing support and counseling.
Many mothers will develop symptom constellations that meet criteria for:
Group therapy, support, healthy coping, counseling, medication, and other ways of counteracting stress may all be helpful in reducing symptoms.