Self-reported depression in mothers of children who have experienced sexual abuse

Anthony P. Mannarino, Judith A. Cohen, Esther Deblinger, Robert Steer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996) was administered to 164 biological mothers of sexually abused children to determine the psychometric characteristics of the BDI-II and to estimate the prevalence of self-reported depression in this population. The study also sought to ascertain whether the mothers' BDI-II total scores were correlated with various psychosocial characteristics of the mothers and their children. It was found that there was only one dimension underlying the 21 BDI-II responses, and the internal consistency of the BDI-II total scores was high. Twenty-six percent of these mothers had scores indicative of clinical depression. The mothers' BDI-II total scores were significantly correlated with their husbands' or paramours' having sexually abused their children and their ratings of the children's internalizing behaviors. These results were discussed as supporting the use of the BDI-II with mothers of sexually abused children to measure self-reported depression.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)203-210
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment
Volume29
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2007
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Psychology

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