NCJ Number
228082
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 24 Issue: 7 Dated: October 2009 Pages: 433-445
Date Published
October 2009
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the mediating roles of several family variables in the relation between intimate partner violence (IPV) witnessing and children's emotional and behavioral problems.
Abstract
Results of the study revealed that maternal psychological distress and children's reports of both family cohesion and relatedness quality mediated the link between intimate partner violence (IPV) in the home and children's psychological adjustment. These family factors had a more powerful effect on children's internalizing than externalizing symptoms. The findings support the value of targeting these variables in the development of culturally appropriate child witness interventions. IPV, a pattern of coercive behaviors that involves physical or sexual violence, threats of violence, and psychological/emotional abuse of one partner by a current or former partner, is one type of family violence that is most prevalent in the United States. Due to the disproportionately high rates of IPV in the African-American community and the heightened risk of negative psychological consequences of IPV, this study examined family factors (maternal psychopathology, family adaptability and cohesion, relatedness quality) in the mother-child dyad that potentially mediated the IPV exposure, child adjustment link in low-income African-American families. The study consisted of 129 low-income, African-American children ages 8 to 12. Tables and references