Intimate Partner Violence, Power, and Equity Among Adolescent Parents: Relation to Child Outcomes and Parenting

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration and power imbalances in parenting partners may result in poor outcomes for parents and children. Previous work in this area has focused on the maternal experiences, neglecting to examine paternal effects. The present study aimed to elucidate the role of IPV, power, and equity in parenting and child outcomes in an urban sample of adolescent parents. 159 male and 182 female parents in a relationship were recruited through university-affiliated hospitals. Power, equity, and IPV were measured at 6 months post-partum and were used as predictors for parenting and child outcomes 12 months post-partum using general estimating equations. Gender interactions and mediation effects of depression were also assessed. Higher perceived relationship equity was related to better infant temperament (B = 0.052, SE = 0.023, p = 0.02) whereas higher partner power was related to poorer social development (B = −0.201, SE = 0.088, p = 0.02) and fine motor development (B = −0.195, SE = 0.078, p = 0.01). IPV victimization was associated with poor infant temperament (B = −2.925, SE = 1.083, p = 0.007) and lower parenting competence (B = −3.508, SE = 1.142, p = 0.002). Depression mediated the relationship between IPV and parenting and IPV and infant temperament. No gender effects were found. IPV, inequities, and power imbalances were disadvantageous for parenting and child outcomes. Our results suggest that these dynamics may negatively affect both males and females. Interventions to reduce violence in both partners and promote equity in relationships could benefit couples and their children.

Intimate partner violence and pregnant and parenting adolescents in out‐of‐home care: reflections on a data set and implications for intervention

“…The abuse not only will traumatise the parent, but also will negatively impact the quality of parenting by the victim of the abuse (Gibson et al . ). Children born into families where abuse is present find themselves at risk for being the target of abuse or maltreatment; with Taylor et al .…”

“…Social development of the child, along with the development of motor skills and moulding of the infant temperament, may be negatively impacted by the presence of IPV in adolescent mothers (Gibson et al . ).…”

A systematic review of concepts related to women’s empowerment in the perinatal period and their associations with perinatal depressive symptoms and premature birth

“…We identified six studies that assessed empowerment in cross-sectional/observational study designs and 19 studies that reported on empowerment interventions. Observational studies used mostly self-report or interview measures, such as the Decision-Making Dominance Subscale of the Sexual Relationship Power Scale [ 20 ] and critical ethnographic interviews [ 14 ]. Studies used different types of empowerment interventions (see Table 1 for details).…”

Narrative Exposure Therapy

“…42–45 Among adolescent parents, IPV was related to poor infant temperament and lower parenting competence, mediated by depression. 46 Children of parents experiencing violence are at risk for relational PTSD, which predicts that a child’s response to trauma is heightened because the parents’ responses are not well regulated. 47 Nearly half of the infants that have been exposed to parental IPV in their first year experienced at least one trauma symptom as reported by their mother.…”