Parenting in the Wake of Abuse: Exploring the Mediating Role of PTSD Symptoms on the Relationship Between Parenting and Child Functioning

Symes, Lene; McFarlane, Judith; Fredland, Nina; Maddoux, John; Zhou, Weiden

doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2015.08.020

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…42 Other studies have shown that children of mothers who have developed PTSD from IPV have a higher risk for behaviour problems than those whose mothers did not develop PTSD. 69 If maternal stress during pregnancy is a causal factor in the aetiology of neurodevelopmental difficulties then exposure to violence, existing PTSD, anxiety disorders and other non-violence-related stressors may all contribute in a similar way. The question may be one of intensity, endurance or timing of the stress reaction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Maternal exposure to violence and offspring neurodevelopment: A systematic review

Toso

Cock

Leavey

2020

Paediatric Perinatal Epid

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Background Stress during pregnancy is known to affect fetal neurodevelopment. It seems likely therefore that intimate partner violence (IPV) and domestic violence (DV) as extreme stressors will have a similarly adverse effect. Objectives A systematic review was conducted to assess the association between prenatal exposure to violence for mothers and developmental difficulties in their children. Data sources PubMed, PsycInfo, CINAHL, ERIC, Science Direct, SCOPUS, PsyARTICLES, Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, Women's Studies International and Gender Studies Database were all searched using the agreed search terms. Study selection and data extraction We include studies of women who have experienced any violence, fear of violence or aggression while pregnant, including emotional, psychological, physical or sexual violence in the context of IPV or DV. Studies were excluded if the neurodevelopmental outcomes of the offspring were not assessed. Studies from all countries were included, in English or translated to English, and search dates were not restricted. We included all years from inception of the database until the search date. Synthesis Study design and biases, assessment tools, management of confounding, results and overall quality were assessed. Results We identified 11 papers reporting on observational studies. Almost three quarters of the studies found a relationship between prenatal exposure to violence and developmental difficulties in the offspring. Differing assessment tools were used with a range of data collected and not all adjusted their findings for the same confounders. Conclusions Current evidence on the relationship between prenatal violence exposure, as IPV or DV, and consequent child developmental disorders remains limited. Future research using comprehensive study designs, larger samples and longitudinal follow‐up of the offspring could clarify this association. While maternal trauma resulting from exposure to violence may play an important role in childhood development disorders, additional intervening factors on the pathway need further explored.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, PTSD may be a measure of accumulative effects of exposure to violence and abuse that may affect pregnancy . Other studies have shown that children of mothers who have developed PTSD from IPV have a higher risk for behaviour problems than those whose mothers did not develop PTSD …”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal exposure to violence and offspring neurodevelopment: A systematic review

Toso

Cock

Leavey

2020

Paediatric Perinatal Epid

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“…Detrimental effects of IPV-PTSD such as emotional numbing have important consequences on the relationships with other family members. In fact, it has been pointed out that an important pathway by which intimate partner violence can affect child development is by affecting maternal mental health and behavior and thus the mother-child relationship during the first years of life (Maddoux et al, 2016;Symes et al, 2016). For example, IPV-PTSD mothers show impaired reading of the emotion of the child having less empathic responses (Lyons-Ruth and Block, 1996;Schechter et al, 2010), and thus less sensitive maternal behavior [e.g., awareness of child signals, accurate interpretation and prompt and appropriate response, (Schechter et al, 2015b)].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of interpersonal violence-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on mother and child diurnal cortisol rhythm and cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor involving separation

Cordero

Moser

Manini

et al. 2017

Hormones and Behavior

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Women who have experienced interpersonal violence (IPV) are at a higher risk to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and impaired social behavior. Previously, we had reported impaired maternal sensitivity and increased difficulty in identifying emotions (i.e. alexithymia) among IPV-PTSD mothers. One of the aims of the present study was to examine maternal IPV-PTSD salivary cortisol levels diurnally and reactive to their child's distress in relation to maternal alexithymia. Given that mother-child interaction during infancy and early childhood has important long-term consequences on the stress response system, toddlers' cortisol levels were assessed during the day and in response to a laboratory stressor. Mothers collected their own and their 12-48month-old toddlers' salivary samples at home three times: 30min after waking up, between 2-3pm and at bedtime. Moreover, mother-child dyads participated in a 120-min laboratory session, consisting of 3 phases: baseline, stress situation (involving mother-child separation and exposure to novelty) and a 60-min regulation phase. Compared to non-PTSD controls, IPV-PTSD mothers - but not their toddlers, had lower morning cortisol and higher bedtime cortisol levels. As expected, IPV-PTSD mothers and their children showed blunted cortisol reactivity to the laboratory stressor. Maternal cortisol levels were negatively correlated to difficulty in identifying emotions. Our data highlights PTSD-IPV-related alterations in the HPA system and its relevance to maternal behavior. Toddlers of IPV-PTSD mothers also showed an altered pattern of cortisol reactivity to stress that potentially may predispose them to later psychological disorders.

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“…They are likely to be less sensitive and less emotionally available (Van Ee et al, 2015). Children whose mothers have experienced partner violence and have PTSD are more likely than similar children whose mothers do not have PTSD to have internalizing and externalizing behavior dysfunctions (Symes, McFarlane, Fredland, Maddoux, and Zhou, 2016).…”

Section: Mother's Chronic Ptsd Symptoms and Child's Risk For Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Baseline Data to Predict Chronic PTSD 48-months After Mothers Report Intimate Partner Violence: Outcomes for Mothers and the Intergenerational Impact on Child Behavioral Functioning

Maddoux

McFarlane

Symes

et al. 2018

Archives of Psychiatric Nursing

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Worldwide one in three women report intimate partner violence. Many of these women report long term mental health problems, especially PTSD, which is associated with negative problem solving, isolation, somatization, depression, and anxiety. Children are impacted by their exposure to domestic violence and experience internal (i.e., depression, anxiety) and external (i.e., hostility, delinquency) behavioral clinical problems. To predict which women will experience chronic PTSD symptoms, a PTSD predictor tool was developed and applied to PTSD symptom scores four years after 300 mothers with children (age 18 months to 16 years) received assistance for the violence. At four years, 266 (89%) of the 300 mother child dyads were retained. Of those, 245 met inclusion criteria for this study and 53% had scores above the clinical threshold for PTSD. The predictor tool performed well. There was a significant association, χ (4) = 11.83, p = .019, Cramer's V = 0.229, between mothers predicted at low/some risk for chronic PTSD and scoring below the cut-off score for diagnostic PTSD symptoms at four years. Mothers predicted to be at extreme risk for chronic PTSD reported PTSD symptoms at or above the diagnostic level at 48 months. Children whose mothers had PTSD were at greater risk for Borderline/Clinical range behavioral problems compared to children whose mothers did not have PTSD. Relative risk values ranged from 2.07 (Externalizing) to 2.30 (Internalizing). When appropriate interventions are available, the PTSD predictor tool can assist with triage and guided referral of women at risk for chronic PTSD.

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Parenting in the Wake of Abuse: Exploring the Mediating Role of PTSD Symptoms on the Relationship Between Parenting and Child Functioning

Cited by 16 publications

References 37 publications

Maternal exposure to violence and offspring neurodevelopment: A systematic review

Maternal exposure to violence and offspring neurodevelopment: A systematic review

Effects of interpersonal violence-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on mother and child diurnal cortisol rhythm and cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor involving separation

Using Baseline Data to Predict Chronic PTSD 48-months After Mothers Report Intimate Partner Violence: Outcomes for Mothers and the Intergenerational Impact on Child Behavioral Functioning

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