TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - Growing older in the shadow of childhood intra-familial sexual abuse: women's reflections on parenthood experiences throughout the life course
JO  - Gerontologist
A1  - Gichaz, Mili
A1  - Winterstein, Tova Band
A1  - Avieli, Hila
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The long-term effect of intra-familial sexual abuse for the survivors' parenting, rarely focuses on older women who are mothers of adult children. The aim of the present study was to explore the parenthood experiences of aging women survivors of intra-familial sexual abuse, using the life-course perspective as a conceptual framework. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to analyze the narratives of 19 older women survivors of intra-familial sexual abuse. <br><br>RESULTS: The narratives revealed four themes: (1) "How did I raise those kids? I really don't know": Early parenthood experiences of aging women incest survivors; (2) "This is a true gift they are giving me now": Revealing the IFSA secret to the adult children; (3) "Is it possible to say that something good came out of it?": Adult children as a victory over incest experiences; and (4) "When my granddaughter was born, I suddenly felt that I couldn't go near her": Grandparenting in the shadow of incest memories. <br><br>DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Aging seems to open up a new avenue for parent-child relationships in the shadow of the parent's traumatic past, allowing reframing of parenthood in later life and demonstrating the power of parenthood as a source of healing in the lives of sexual abuse victims.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0016-9013
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab102
ID  - ref1
ER  -