Publication year
2017
Citation Title
Parent-child aggression, adult-partner violence, and child outcomes: A prospective, population-based study.
Journal Name
Child Abuse & Neglect
Journal Volume
68
Page Numbers
1-10
DOI
10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.03.017
Summary
It is important to understand the negative effects of domestic violence on child outcomes. This population-based study interviewed the primary caregiver of 2,810 children aged three, six, or nine years old. Each caregiver was interviewed three times in three-year intervals about their child's exposure to domestic violence (i.e., parent-child physical aggression and intimate partner violence) and child outcomes (i.e., internalized and externalized symptoms). Results revealed that both types of domestic violence were related to the development of negative child outcomes.
Key Findings
Children who were victims of parent-child physical aggression were likely to develop externalizing symptoms, whereas children exposed to intimate partner violence were likely to development internalizing symptoms.
Parent-child physical aggression had more negative effects on child outcomes than intimate partner violence.
Children who were not exposed to parent-child physical aggression or intimate partner violence experienced an increase of internalizing symptoms and a decrease of externalizing symptoms during the nine years.
Implications for Military Professionals
Assess for both parent-child physical aggression and intimate partner violence in military families
Attend training about domestic violence to increase ability to identify risk factors for domestic violence in military families
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer child maltreatment preventative services that can support Service members who are new parents
Develop parenting and marriage workshops that aim to promote family well-being and decrease the chance of domestic violence
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage awareness campaign on military bases regarding the negative effects of both parent-child physical aggression and intimate partner violence on child outcomes
Recommend professional development for professionals working with military families to identify the presence of risk factors for domestic violence
Methods
Participants were recruited from a large Midwest city that represented a population-based sample; the method of recruitment and the recruiting criteria were not specified.
Each child's primary care giver (in 98% of the case it was the child's biological mother) was interviewed three times in three-year intervals. Interview measures assessed parent-child physical aggression, intimate partner violence, child outcomes, and socioeconomic status.
Data were analyzed to examine the associations between domestic violence and child outcomes.
Participants
Participants were 2,810 children (50% male) between three and nine years old at time one. The average age of the sample was not reported.
Most children were Latino (48%) and Black (34%); the race/ethnicity of the remaining 18% of children was not reported.
One tenth of children (10%) experienced parent-child physical aggression and 4% of children experienced intimate partner violence at all three time points of the study.
Limitations
The study was solely based on children's primary caregiver's report, which may not fully represent children's experiences of domestic violence.
Only self-report data were used in the study; therefore, the findings may be subject to social-desirability bias and memory bias.
Most participants were Black and Latino, so caution must be taken to generalized the findings to other race/ethnicity groups.
Avenues for Future Research
Recruit participants from additional racial and ethnic backgrounds so that the results can be better generalized
Collect both subjective (e.g., primary caregiver interviews) and objective data (e.g., child protection service records) to increase the reliability of the study
Interview both fathers and mothers to get a more comprehensive view of children's experience of domestic violence
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Parent-child physical aggression (PCPA) and adult intimate partner violence (IPV) are common forms of family violence that often co-occur. Their deleterious effects on children and adolescents have been well documented. However, important questions remain regarding
whether the type of violence exposure, the experience of one or both forms, the chronicity of violent experiences, and the age, gender, and SES of the child, differentially influence developmental outcomes. Data on 2810 children from the Project on Human Development
in Chicago Neighborhoods were analyzed. Children aged 3–9 at the outset were assessed three times, at 3-year intervals. Primary caregivers reported on IPV, PCPA, and children’s externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Children’s externalizing and internalizing symptomswere examined as a function of time, age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and the time-varying effects of cumulative IPV and PCPA exposure. Cumulative experiences of IPV and PCPA each adversely affected the developmental trajectories of both externalizing and internalizing symptoms, but in different ways; and they did so independently of participants’ age, gender, or SES, which all functioned as significant, independent predictors of child outcomes. PCPA was by far the more potent of the two forms of violence; and when both forms occurred, they worked additively to affect outcomes. Important questions remain regarding the reasons for the differential potency of these two forms of family violence on childhood symptoms, and related implications for interventions, as well as for later adult behavior.
whether the type of violence exposure, the experience of one or both forms, the chronicity of violent experiences, and the age, gender, and SES of the child, differentially influence developmental outcomes. Data on 2810 children from the Project on Human Development
in Chicago Neighborhoods were analyzed. Children aged 3–9 at the outset were assessed three times, at 3-year intervals. Primary caregivers reported on IPV, PCPA, and children’s externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Children’s externalizing and internalizing symptomswere examined as a function of time, age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and the time-varying effects of cumulative IPV and PCPA exposure. Cumulative experiences of IPV and PCPA each adversely affected the developmental trajectories of both externalizing and internalizing symptoms, but in different ways; and they did so independently of participants’ age, gender, or SES, which all functioned as significant, independent predictors of child outcomes. PCPA was by far the more potent of the two forms of violence; and when both forms occurred, they worked additively to affect outcomes. Important questions remain regarding the reasons for the differential potency of these two forms of family violence on childhood symptoms, and related implications for interventions, as well as for later adult behavior.
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