Psychological Distress and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms: The Role of Maternal Satisfaction, Parenting Stress, and Social Support Among Mothers and Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Studies of the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on parenting have usually not examined the role of the maternal perceptions, either its stress or maternal satisfaction, on the mothers' and children's mental health functioning. The present study aimed to assess whether maternal satisfaction, parenting stress, and social support are significantly associated with women's psychological functioning. The study also assessed whether maternal perceptions of the role of parenting were significantly associated with children's emotional well-being and social behavior. The sample included 160 mothers, 79 (49.4%) who were living with the aggressors and 81 (50.6%) in shelters, and their children ( n = 61). The findings suggested that high levels of maternal satisfaction and perception of social support were significantly negatively associated with women's posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and psychological distress, whereas parenting stress was significantly positively associated with these outcomes. Maternal satisfaction was the only parenting variable that predicted both maternal mental health and children's emotional and behavioral problems, suggesting that it is a protective factor for both mothers and children. This study suggests that increasing maternal satisfaction with parenting and reducing parenting stress might promote better adjustment for both women and children victims of IPV.

Parenting stress and risk of child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic: A family stress theory-informed perspective

“…Effective coping strategies should also be provided through parenting interventions for parents to learn positive ways to cope with stress. More importantly, to address parents' negative perceptions, more concrete support and resources should be provided for them, as their perceptions toward stress might be changed when support is increased (Pinto et al, 2019).…”

Explaining Cyberloafing Behavior: The Role of General Strain Theory

“…High organizational support can also reduce employee stress levels (Arnold, Edwards, & Rees, 2018;Pinto et al, 2016;Sulistyan, Ermawati, Hidayat, Lukiana, & Kasno, 2019). In other studies, it is stated that organizational support has not been able to reduce employee stress levels (Gökçearslan et al, 2018).…”

“…However, job stress in the form of role conflict cannot be proven to detect employee cyberloafing (Lonteng, Kindangen, & Tumewu, 2019). Work stress will be reduced with the support of the organization (Ghani et al, 2018;Pinto, Correia-Santos, Levendosky, & Jongenelen, 2016). But on the other hand, it is stated that the existence of organizational support has not been able to reduce work stress (Gökçearslan et al, 2018).…”

Trauma Symptoms and Social Support Mediate the Impact of Violence Exposure on Parenting Competence Among Substance-Dependent Mothers

“…Within the parenting domain, very little research has examined social support and parenting from the perspective of social selection. Among mothers experiencing interpersonal violence, Pinto, Correia-Santos, Levendosky, and Jongenelen (2019) identified relations between higher PTSD and lower perceived support and between higher perceived support and lower parenting distress. Social support was also found to positively affect satisfaction with the parenting role among parents who had experienced childhood sexual abuse (Libby et al, 2008).…”