'Take Care of Me - But I Can't Right Then, I Have to Tend to my Daughter:' The Influence of Mothers' Childhood Trauma on Parenting

A mother's history of unresolved childhood trauma greatly affects her parenting and, ultimately, the well-being of the child. In order to engage in healthy interpersonal relationships, children need to develop secure attachments to their mothers. Mothers who have experienced unresolved trauma often have difficulties creating secure attachments with their children. While past research has explored the impact of trauma on parenting abilities, the methodology that has been employed is most often a quantitative analysis, primarily utilizing self-report questionnaires or surveys. By contrast, this qualitative phenomenological study looked at the subjective experience of mothers as survivors of trauma and how their past traumas and attachment histories play a role in their relationship with their children. Mothers who have survived interpersonal trauma participated in semi-structured interviews. Phenomenological data analysis was then utilized to determine any similar themes in the interviews. This process provided an understanding of the parenting experience of mothers with a history of interpersonal trauma. Some of the most salient results showed that mothers were intentional about stopping the cycle of trauma with their children. They discussed a need to protect their children and give their children love. Many participants described that giving their children a supportive and loving childhood helped "heal the child within them." Ultimately, an awareness of this process may help researchers and clinicians to aid mothers in becoming more mindful of their past experiences, as well as their parenting practices, in order to facilitate a more healthy development of their children.