NCJ Number
221808
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: May 2008 Pages: 221-230
Date Published
May 2008
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this study was to explore the role of perceived social support as a mediator in the relation between intimate partner conflict and child adjustment problems in a low socioeconomic status African-American sample.
Abstract
Findings suggest a mediational role of children’s perceived social support in the relation between child report of intimate partner conflict and both internalizing and externalizing problems. The findings also reveal that mothers’ perceived social support played a mediational role in the relation between both physical and nonphysical abuse with their children’s internalizing, but not externalizing problems. Therefore, the findings from this investigation reveal that diminished levels of perceived social support associated with severe intimate partner conflict is a risk factor for emotional and behavioral problems in children from low-income African-American families; this is particularly true for internalizing difficulties. Research has shown that intimate partner violence (IPV) has unique relevance to African-American women, as they tend to experience violence that is more severe than victims of other races. Research has also shown that African-American women who live in poverty also have higher rates of IPV than women from other races or social classes. This exposure to IPV can have significant negative effects on children. Social support has been highlighted in previous literature as potentially mediating the association between high levels of IP conflict and children’s adjustment. This study examined the mediational role of perceived social support as experienced by both children and their mothers in the relation between IP conflict and childhood adjustment problems among 148 low-income African-American children and their mothers. Tables, references