Childhood sexual abuse and pathogenic parenting in the childhood recollections of adult twin pairs

Background. We examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CS A), and interviewees' recollections of pathogenic parenting, testing for po ssible retrospective biases in the recollections of those who have experien ced CSA. Methods. Information about CSA, parental divorce and interviewees' recollec tions of parental rejection, parental overprotection and perceived autonomy (as assessed through a shortened version of the Parental Bonding: Instrume nt) was obtained through telephone interviews with 3626 Australian twins wh o had also returned self-report questionnaires several years earlier. Recol lections of parental behaviours were compared for individuals from pairs in which neither twin, at least one twin, or both twins reported CSA. Results. Significant associations were noted between CSA and paternal alcoh olism and between CSA and recollections of parental rejection. For women, i ndividuals from CSA-discordant pairs reported levels of parental rejection that were significantly higher than those obtained from CSA-negative pairs. The levels of parental rejection observed for twins from CSA-discordant pa irs did not differ significantly from those obtained from CSA-concordant pa irs, regardless of respondent's abuse status. For men from CSA-discordant p airs, respondents reporting CSA displayed a tendency to report higher level s of parental rejection than did respondents not reporting CSA. Other measu res of parenting behaviour (perceived autonomy and parental overprotection) failed to show a clear relationship with CSA. Conclusions. The relationship between CSA and respondents' recollections of parental rejection is not due solely to retrospective bias on the part of abused individuals and, consistent with other studies, may reflect a pathol ogical family environment with serious consequences for all siblings.