Maternal Childhood Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence, and Child Psychopathology: The Mediator Role of Mothers' Mental Health

• NCJ Number: 245913
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2013 Pages: 50-68
• Author(s): Jenniffer K. Miranda; Nuria de la Osa; Roser Granero; Lourdes Ezpeleta
• Date Published: January 2013
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the mediator role of mothers' mental health in the relationship among maternal childhood abuse CA, intimate partner violence IPV, and offspring's psychopathology, and explored whether mediational pathways were moderated by children's sex.

Abstract

This study examined the mediator role of mothers' mental health in the relationship among maternal childhood abuse CA, intimate partner violence IPV, and offspring's psychopathology, and explored whether mediational pathways were moderated by children's sex. Participants were 327 Spanish outpatient children, 8 to 17 years old, and their mothers. Mothers' global psychological distress and depressive symptoms mediated the associations between mothers' violence history and children's externalizing problems. However, only depressive symptoms fully mediated these relationships. Children's sex did not have a moderating role in adjusted paths. Mothers' depressive symptoms are an important mechanism by which maternal violence experiences could affect externalizing problems in Spanish children. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage.