Intimate Partner Violence in the First 2 Years of Life: Implications for Toddlers’ Behavior Regulation

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent in families with young children and challenges their healthy development. This study examined characteristics of IPV (e.g., mother- vs. partner-perpetrated, types and severity) and investigated potential effects of IPV on toddlers' behavioral regulation in a sample of families at risk for IPV. We also examined whether maternal depression and child-rearing attitudes and behavior would moderate IPV-child behavior links. These questions were addressed in a sample ( N = 400) of first-time adolescent mothers and their toddlers (1-2 years of age). Families were visited in their homes; data were collected via maternal report and observations. Partner- and self-perpetrated IPV was assessed using the Conflict Tactics Scale questionnaire; child behavior regulation was measured using the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment questionnaire. Approximately 80% of families experienced psychological aggression; almost one third reported physical assault in the past year. Both physical and psychological IPV were associated with greater toddler behavior problems. Neither maternal depression, mothers' attitudes about corporal punishment, nor nonhostile interaction moderated IPV-behavior problem links, though mothers' reports of maltreating behavior did. Among children whose mothers did not use corporal punishment/physical violence, IPV did not differentially affect behavior problems. Children whose mothers used corporal punishment/physical violence with them showed behavior problems in the context of IPV (severe psychological aggression). Results underscore the importance of exposure to IPV during the first year of life, and the prevalence of IPV perpetrated by both mothers and their partners in families with adolescent mothers.

A Systematic Review of Risk and Protective Factors for Externalizing Problems in Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

“…In a recent study by Zarling et al (2013), maternal harsh parenting mediated the association between exposure to IPV and externalizing problems in a community sample of low socioeconomic status families aged 6–8 years ( N = 132). These findings were consistent with those of Easterbrooks, Katz, Kotake, Stelmach, and Chaudhuri (2015) in a larger, at-risk sample of mothers and their children aged 1–2 years ( N = 400). Children who had witnessed IPV and experienced harsh parenting, specifically corporal punishment, had more severe behavior problems.…”

“…Further corroborating evidence comes from a number of other studies (Clarke et al, 2007; Fredland, Campbell, & Han, 2009; Holmes, 2013; Lieberman, van Horn, & Ippen, 2005; Maddoux et al, 2016). On the other hand, other studies have found that maternal psychopathology including depression did not mediate the relationship between IPV and child disruptive behaviors (Easterbrooks, Katz, Kotake, Stelmach, & Chaudhuri, 2015; Ehrensaft & Cohen, 2012; Graham-Bermann, Howell, Lilly, & DeVoe, 2011).…”

Maternal reflective functioning, interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder, and risk for psychopathology in early childhood

“…Another study explored the effects of exposure to partner violence on women and their children and found that maternal mental health functioning was directly related to child psychopathology on the Child Behavior Checklist (Maddoux et al, 2016). Results of a recent study showed that the severity of maternal psychopathology among mothers who reported experiencing IPV was associated with greater behavioral problems among toddlers (Easterbrooks, Katz, Kotake, Stelmach, & Chaudhuri, 2015).…”

Spillover and Crossover Effects: Mothers’ and Fathers’ Intimate Partner Violence, Parent-Child Aggression Risk, and Child Behavior Problems

“…Although relatively fewer longitudinal studies have been conducted in this area (Evans et al, 2008), early evidence supports the association between IPV and child behavior problems over time, with IPV exposure more strongly linked to externalizing problems for younger children and internalizing problems for older children (Vu et al, 2016). First-time mothers' reports of physical and psychological IPV, either as victim or as perpetrator, were each associated with their reports of their toddlers' higher behavior problems a year later (Easterbrooks et al, 2018). Toddlers who experienced corporal punishment or PCA were rated as having higher child behavior problems in the presence of mothers' psychological IPV (either victimization or perpetration), relative to children who had not (Easterbrooks et al, 2018).…”