Resilience in nonoffending caregivers and families of abused children in the Philippines

Research has documented the deleterious impact of child abuse disclosure on parents and their families. However, few studies have examined perceived characteristics of resilience in nonoffending caregivers of abused children... [ view full abstract ]

Research has documented the deleterious impact of child abuse disclosure on parents and their families. However, few studies have examined perceived characteristics of resilience in nonoffending caregivers of abused children and their families. Integrating trauma, resilience, and the family strengths perspective, the objective of the current study was to investigate parental emotional wellbeing, stress, and behaviors, as well as perceived family functioning in nonoffending parents/guardians of abused children from the Philippines. Participants included 92 parents/guardians of abused children and a comparison group of 94 parents of nonabused children who were recruited from different regions in the Philippines. Self-report questionnaires were used to initially assess the participants between 6 and 12-months (Time 1) following child abuse disclosure and then re-assessed one year later (Time 2). Results from multivariate analyses showed significant differences between the groups in parental emotional wellbeing and inconsistent discipline at Time 1 but not at Time 2. Additionally, families of abused children were perceived as rigid, chaotic, disengaged, less cohesive, and less balanced in overall family functioning at Time 1 but no differences across the family functioning variables were found at Time 2 between the two parental groups. Results further showed that at both assessments, reduced emotional wellbeing was associated with poor parental supervision. Low cohesion and flexibility and poor family communication was associated with parental distress in Time 1 but only poor family communication correlated with parental distress in the follow up assessment. Findings highlight the importance of considering individual and family resilience factors to address the needs and concerns of nonoffending caregivers of abused children and their families.