Differential effects of psychological maltreatment on children of mothers exposed to intimate partner violence

Effects of early adversity and social discrimination on empathy for complex mental states: An fMRI investigation

There is extensive evidence of an association between early adversity and enduring neural changes that impact socioemotional processing throughout life. Yet little is known about the effects of on-going social discrimination on socioemotional functioning. Here we examined how cumulative experiences of social discrimination impact brain response during empathic responding—a crucial issue in South Africa, given its historical apartheid context and continuing legacies. White and Black South Africans completed measures of social adversity (early adversity and social discrimination), and underwent fMRI while viewing video clips depicting victims and perpetrators of apartheid crimes. Increased neural response was detected in brain regions associated with cognitive rather than affective empathy, and greater social adversity was associated with reduced reported compassion across participants. Notably, social discrimination (due to income level, weight, gender) in White participants was associated with increased amygdala reactivity, whereas social discrimination (due to race) in Black participants mediated the negative associations of temporoparietal junction and inferior frontal gyrus activation with compassion during emotionally provocative conditions. These findings suggest that (i) social discrimination has comparable associations at the neural level as other psychosocial stressors, and that (ii) the mechanisms underlying empathic responding vary as a function of the type of social discrimination experienced.

Victims of Domestic Violence in Shelters: Impacts on Women and Children

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of domestic violence (DV) on women and their children. The records of women who were admitted to one of two types of shelter (an emergency shelter [n = 834] and a medium-long stay shelter [n = 84]) for victims of DV in Bizkaia (Spain) from 2006-2015 were analyzed. The results showed that up to 80% of the women had mental health problems. In about 20% of cases, a problematic mother-child relationship was identified. Inadequate parenting was present in around 35% of cases. Around 80-90% of the children had witnessed the abuse suffered by their mother, and more than half had been direct victims of some type of abuse. The findings point to actions that shelters can take to address the needs of DV victims. They also highlight the need for separate interventions targeting the needs of children, as well as mothers.

Maternal depression and intimate partner violence exposure: Longitudinal analyses of the development of aggressive behavior in an at-risk sample

A substantial body of literature has documented the negative effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on a wide range of children's developmental outcomes. However, whether a child's exposure to IPV leads to increased adjustment difficulties is likely to depend on a variety of factors, including the caregiver's mental health and the developmental time period when IPV exposure occurs. The present study seeks to improve our understanding of the long-term effects of IPV exposure and maternal depression on the development of children's overt aggressive behavior. Longitudinal analyses (i.e., latent growth curve modeling) examining three time points (toddler: age 2-3 years, preschool/kindergarten: age 4-5 years, and elementary school: age 6-8 years) were conducted using 1,399 at-risk children drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I). IPV exposure during age 2-3 years was significantly related to concurrent aggressive behavior and aggressive behavior during age 4-5 years. At all three time points, IPV was significantly associated with maternal depression, which in turn, was significantly related to higher levels of aggressive behavior. There was also a significant indirect lagged effect of IPV exposure at age 2-3 years through maternal depression on aggressive behavior at age 4-5 years. Results indicated that maternal depression was a strong predictor of increased reports of overt aggressive behavior, suggesting that interventions to buffer the effects of IPV exposure should focus on relieving maternal depression and fostering productive social behavior in children. Aggr. Behav. 43:375-385, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Child Psychological Maltreatment and Its Correlated Factors in Chinese Families

The present study aimed to explore the prevalence and frequency of child psychological maltreatment and its correlated factors in Chinese families. A cross-sectional investigation was conducted among 1,002 parents of primary school students in Yuncheng City, China. Data were collected using the self-report questionnaire anonymously. Results showed that 696 (69.5%) surveyed parents had different extents of psychological maltreatment toward their children in the past 3 months. The high prevalence of parental psychology maltreatment was significantly associated with high scores on parental over-reactivity and low scores on recognition of child psychology maltreatment. These findings indicate that it is urgent to develop cultural interventions to raise parents' awareness of preventing child psychological maltreatment and to help parents use nonviolent child rearing in China.

Children who are exposed to intimate partner violence: Interviewing mothers to understand its impact on children

Children's victimization related to intimate partner violence (IPV) has damaging effects on their well-being and development. The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of IPV on children's emotional and behavioral problems through their mothers' narratives. A total of 30 Spanish mothers (mean age=41.57 years, SD=8.54 years) were individually interviewed. The results showed that many of the children directly suffered from aggression, and most of them witnessed IPV. As a result of their exposure to violence, children often develop psychological, social, and school problems. Their learning of aggressive behaviors is especially remarkable, and these behaviors are sometimes directed towards their mothers. Thus, women can suffer a twofold victimization: by their partner and by their children. These additional problems contribute to hindering the recovery process of victims. Fortunately, not all children develop problems as a result of exposure to IPV; some of them are capable of mature responses.

Self-reported physical and emotional abuse among youth offenders and their association with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology: a preliminary study

The aim of this exploratory study was twofold. First, the severity of physical and emotional abuse perpetrated by parents and its association with internalizing and externalizing problems were explored in a sample of 104 male and female youth offenders. Second, we tested the moderate effect of callous-unemotional traits on the relation between physical and emotional victimization and internalizing and externalizing problems in boys. The analyses revealed that a high percentage of youth offenders reported having been physically abused. More severe physical abuse was not related to higher levels of internalizing or externalizing problems. Young offenders' emotional abuse levels were low; however, this type of abuse was positively associated with externalizing problems among boys, regardless of the level of callous-unemotional traits. Thus, we suggest that youth offenders must be assessed using measures of physical and emotional abuse, and their case management should integrate specific programs to focus on the family environment to which the adolescents will most likely return after their sentence.

The sleeper effect of intimate partner violence exposure: long-term consequences on young children's aggressive behavior

BACKGROUND

Children who have been exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) experience a wide variety of short-term social adjustment and emotional difficulties, including externalizing behavioral problems such as aggression. While children are affected by IPV at all ages, little is known about the long-term consequences of IPV exposure at younger ages. Because early experiences provide the foundation for later development, children exposed to IPV as an infant or toddler may experience worse negative outcomes over time than children never exposed.

METHODS

Using the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), latent growth curve modeling was conducted to examine whether early IPV exposure occurring between birth and age three (n = 107), compared with no exposure (n = 339), affects the development of aggressive behavior over 5 years. This modeling allowed for empirical exploration of developmental trajectories, and considered whether initial social development trajectories and change over time vary according to early IPV exposure.

RESULTS

Children who were exposed to more frequent early IPV did not have significantly different aggressive behavior problems initially than children who were never exposed. However, over time, the more frequently children were exposed between birth and 3 years, the more aggressive behavior problems were exhibited by age eight.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicate a long-term negative behavioral effect on children who have been exposed to IPV at an early age. An initial assessment directly following exposure to IPV may not be able to identify behavior problems in young children. Because the negative effects of early IPV exposure are delayed until the child is of school age, early intervention is necessary for reducing the risk of later aggressive behavior.