Traumatic Stress Symptoms Mediate the Relationship between Violence Exposure and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Young Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Miller ◽  
Kathryn Howell ◽  
Sandra Graham
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Externalizing Behavior ◽  
Violence Exposure ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Stress Symptoms ◽  
The Relationship

Mothers’ Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Depression: Associations with Children’s Behavioral Functioning

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110567
Author(s):  
Alyssa M. Yetter
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Externalizing Behavior ◽  
Externalizing Behavior Problems ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Behavioral Functioning ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing

Despite robust bodies of literature documenting that both mothers’ intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and mothers’ mental health are consequential for children’s behavioral functioning, the conjunction of these two risk factors is less understood. Findings are mixed as to whether mental health mediates the effect of IPV on behavioral functioning. Such mixed findings may result from literature primarily examining samples selected from clinical, shelter, or intervention settings. Furthermore, few studies have expanded the literature to assess moderation, rather than mediation, effects. While mediation analysis tests whether behavioral problems result from mothers’ IPV because IPV increases depression, moderation analysis instead tests whether mother’s IPV victimization has a different impact for their children based on whether or not the mother is also experiencing depression. The current study uses a representative survey of neighborhoods and households in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey ( n = 1,913), to examine the combined effects of mothers’ IPV victimization and depression on children’s internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The findings suggest that mothers’ IPV victimization and depression have direct, positive effects on both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Additionally, there is a moderation effect such that children of mothers who suffer from both IPV victimization and depression have higher levels of internalizing behavior problems. These results emphasize the importance of addressing the mental health of IPV victims, not only for the benefit of the direct victim, but also for the benefit of her children.

Effects of Early Exposure and Lifetime Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) on Child Adjustment

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra A. Graham-Bermann ◽  
Suzanne Perkins
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Externalizing Behavior ◽  
Violence Exposure ◽  
Child Adjustment ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Cumulative Exposure ◽  
Cumulative Violence

Children exposed to overwhelming and potentially traumatic events early in their lives are considered at-risk for problems in adjustment. Yet it is not known whether it is the age of first exposure (AFE) to violence or the amount of violence that the child witnessed in their lifetime that has the greatest impact on adjustment. For a sample of 190 children ages 6 to 12 exposed to intimate partner violence, their mothers reported that the average length of their abusive relationship was 10 years. The majority of children were first exposed to family violence as infants (64%), with only 12% first exposed when school-aged. Both the AFE and an estimate of the cumulative amount of violence were significantly and negatively related to children’s behavioral problems. However, in regression analyses controlling for child sex, ethnicity, age, and family environment variables, cumulative violence exposure accounted for greater variance in adjustment than did AFE. Furthermore, cumulative violence exposure mediated the relationship between AFE and externalizing behavior problems, indicating that the cumulative exposure to IPV outweighed the AFE in its effect on child adjustment.

Intimate Partner Violence and PTSD: The Moderating Role of Emotion-Focused Coping

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 604-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Lilly ◽  
Sandra A. Graham-Bermann
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Violence Exposure ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects millions of women every year, often resulting in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The strength of the relationship between IPV and PTSD has been shown to be affected by factors such as the amount of violence exposure and the style of coping in which the individual engages. For example, emotion-focused coping has been shown to be strongly related to IPV exposure and the expression of PTSD symptoms. This topic was explored in IPV survivors, with the finding that more frequent use of emotion-focused coping was associated with both higher violence exposure and heightened PTSD symptoms. Regression analyses revealed that emotion-focused coping moderated the relationship between IPV exposure and PTSD symptoms. More specifically, the results suggest that while individuals low on emotion-focused coping had fewer PTSD symptoms than women who frequently used emotion-focused coping, these individuals reported higher PTSD symptoms in the presence of frequent violence exposure. For individuals who frequently engaged in emotion-focused coping, violence exposure was less strongly associated with symptoms of PTSD.

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