The Effects of Abusive Mothers on Daughters

Healthy self-esteem begins with maternal nurturing. Although more and more men are involved in the daily care of children, this role still falls more to mothers than to fathers. The importance of a positive mother-daughter relationship is exemplified by the many psychological and medical conditions experienced by adult women who experienced childhood emotional abuse or neglect, according to T.P. Moeller, et al. Negative symptoms include more frequent illnesses and hospitalizations, drug addiction, depression and other mental disorders.

Abusive Mothers

• Abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional in nature, according to Salus J. Goldman, et al. Although physical and sexual abuse occurs, emotional abuse is more common. Even in cases of physical abuse, mothers tend to slap their daughters as a means of emotional degradation. In many cases, the abuse is verbal. Some abusive mothers actively degrade their daughters with insults and gestures. Other times, the abuse is more subtle. Emotional neglect occurs when a mother ignores her daughter or unconsciously speaks to her in a negative way. In many of these cases, abusive mothers are channeling their own psychological issues into a negative relationship with their daughters.

Psychological Issues

• Daughters who are abused are more likely to develop numerous psychological conditions and disorders. Due to a sense of inferiority stemming from abuse, daughters experience a diminished or misguided sense of self-esteem. A lowered self-esteem may develop into chronic anxiety disorder. In some cases, daughters maintain this lowered sense of self-esteem and attempt to pacify it with sexual gratification, which can lead to sexual disorders. Other common psychological issues experienced by abused daughters include depression and dissociative identity disorders. In extreme cases of abuse, daughters may experience post-traumatic stress disorder later in life, according to Kathryn Patricelli in "Effects of Abuse."

Social Issues

• Abused daughters are also more likely to develop various social issues, many of which stem from psychological disorders. Abuse often leads daughters to develop a sense of inadequate self-image. This leads to social anxiety and detachment in some extreme cases. In other cases, the opposite effect occurs: abused daughters seek validation through social interaction to compensate for the lowered sense of image. This creates unhealthy social relationships on which the daughter is dependent for her sense of self-worth.

Behavioral Mimicry

• Much of human behavior stems from a conditioned state due to social upbringing and environment. Abused daughters may therefore grow up to mimic the behavior of their abusive mothers. In some cases the abuse stems from a type of indifference, in that the grown daughter unconsciously applies the abusive parenting style she learned from her mother. In other cases the abuse may be a manifestation of the grown daughter's emotional inadequacy for having been raised by an abusive mother.