The Meaning of Risk in Reproductive Decisions after Childhood Abuse and Neglect
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The Meaning of Risk in Reproductive Decisions after Childhood Abuse and Neglect Elise J. Matthews 1
&
Michel Desjardins 2
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract Few studies have addressed the experiences and meaning of family formation among adults who have experienced childhood maltreatment. From a critical interpretivist approach, we explored women’s and men’s perceptions of the risk of intergenerational transmission of family dysfunction in their stories of reproductive decisions. In this qualitative study, transcripts from interviews with 15 adults who self-reported childhood physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, or exposure to family violence were coded, thematically analysed, and patterns of meaning interpreted. In their reflections on their childhood experiences and the meaning of family formation in the present, risk was constructed in three ways: seven women who described themselves as meant to be mothers would not pass on dysfunction but rather a good family life; four women who described themselves as not meant to be mothers (voluntarily childless or parent allies) eliminated any risk of transmission of dysfunction; and two men and two women were uncertain about starting families and of their ability to eliminate the transfer of dysfunction. The findings offer an introduction to such adults’ generative experiences, point to future research questions, and afford understanding for mental health professionals who can provide anticipatory guidance during the transition to parenthood for adults who have experienced childhood maltreatment. Keywords Childhood maltreatment . Abuse . Neglect . Family violence . Reproductive decisions . Intergenerational transmission . Critical interpretivism
What is it like to become a parent—or think about becoming a parent—when one has been mistreated by their own parents? Little research has focused on the intersection of a history of childhood adversity with choices in the present regarding family formation. We present stories of Canadian adults making reproductive choices after childhood family violence. Analysis and interpretation of these reflections on experience were informed by foundational sociological and anthropological theories of the gift and the good life (Godbout 1998; Mattingly 2014), offering a unique contribution to the study
* Elise J. Matthews [email protected] Michel Desjardins [email protected] 1
Faculty of Nursing, University of Regina, 111 – 116 Research Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
2
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
of the family. The purpose of this inductive study was to explore the experiences and meaning-making of adults who have experienced physical or emotional abuse, neglect or exposure to family violence in childhood and who, in the present, either have, want to have, do not want to have, or hesitate to have children.
Prevalence of Childhood Maltreatment This exploratory research is salient consi
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