Linking marital violence,mother-child/father-child aggression,and child behavior problems

Previous research indicates that observation of marital violence has a deleterious impact on children's adjustment. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. The present study examined the relationships between observation of marital violence, mother-child aggression, father-child aggression, and child behavior problems in a sample of 185 children (ages 7 to 13) and their mothers who were residing at battered women shelters. A significant positive association was found between amount of marital violence witnessed and father-child aggression. However, the correlation between the amount of marital violence witnessed and mother-child aggression was not significant. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that both the amount of marital violence witnessed as well as mother-child aggression were significantly related to child behavior problems, even when controlling for the effects of child age, race, and father status (i.e., whether the mother's partner was the biological father or stepfather/cohabitee). Family violence variables were better predictors of girls' rather than boys' behavior problems, particularly externalizing behavior problem scores. The lack of significance between father-child aggression and child behavior problems, as well as the implications of the findings, are discussed.     

Prevalence of spouse aggression in Hong Kong

The present study explored the extent of spouse aggression in Chinese families in Hong Kong. Subjects were 246 female and 136 male undergraduate students who reported on the various forms of interparental aggression and violence. About 75% of the subjects reported interparental verbal or symbolic aggression and 14% indicated the use of physical violence between parents. In general, compared to mothers, fathers engaged in more verbal aggression against their spouses. Mothers were as likely as fathers to use actual physical force toward their spouses. Interparental responses to family conflicts did not vary with children's gender except that female subjects observed that fathers reasoned less but engaged in more insulting, throwing, smashing, hitting, or kicking things than mothers.     

Wounding Words: Maternal Verbal Aggression and Children's Adjustment

Psychological maltreatment, including verbal aggression, has been implicated as an important contributor to children's behavioral problems. The present study looked specifically at the relationship between different forms of maternal verbal aggression and their association with children's adjustment. Mothers from Violent and Nonviolent families were compared on their use of various verbal aggression tactics, as measured by the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, 1979). Mothers from both groups used threats and insults with comparable frequency. In both groups, insults were predictive of children's adjustment. The relationship was particularly striking in children from violent homes. We conclude that chronic exposure to inter-parental violence may render children emotionally susceptible to maternal disparagement.     

Family Violence and Children’s Behavior Problems: Independent Contributions of Intimate Partner and Child-Directed Physical Aggression

Using data from a diverse sample of 581 families living in predominantly low-income, rural communities, the current study sought to investigate the longitudinal associations among father-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) and child-directed physical aggression perpetrated by the mother. The unique contributions of each of these types of family violence on children’s behavioral problems at school entry were also examined. Results confirm bidirectional associations between father-perpetrated IPV and maternal physical aggression directed toward the child, and indicate that both types of physical aggression contribute to child behavior problems at school entry.     

Behavior Problems in Children Exposed to Wife Abuse: Gender Differences

Family aggression patterns and behavior problems of children, aged 6-12, recruited from shelters for battered women (shelter group) were contrasted with three comparison groups of currently nonviolent families: two-parent, single-mother, and homeless. Girls who had been exposed to recent interparental wife abuse were predicted to show more internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than similarly exposed boys, based on recent literature. Homeless and shelter mothers reported the highest rates of parent-child aggression. Shelter girls obtained significantly higher total, internalizing and externalizing behavior problem ratings than shelter boys, and than two-parent and single-mother girls. Shelter boys obtained significantly higher internalizing ratings than two-parent boys. Shelter and homeless children were rated as having equivalent levels of behaviour problems. Across all groups, mothers' psychological adjustment was a better predictor of daughters' adjustment than that of sons. The study concluded that the assumption that preadolescent girls have greater immunity to psychosocial risk is unfounded.     

Experiencing and witnessing familial aggression and their relationship to physically aggressive behaviors among Filipino adolescents

The effects of family violence on children's aggressive behaviors have been the focus of much research. However, results have been equivocal in at least the following three areas: (a) the specific effects on aggression of child-directed violence versus child-witnessed violence, (b) the salience of family violence as an explanation of aggression when other theoretically relevant explanations of aggression are controlled (i.e., peers, attachments, or moral beliefs), and (c) the gender-specific effects of family violence. Using a probability sample of adolescents from a medium-sized city in the Philippines, this article assesses the effects of child-directed and child-witnessed violence between parents on aggressive behaviors of adolescents while controlling for theoretically relevant explanations of aggression. Results show that child-witnessed and child-directed violence are positively and significantly related to self-reported aggression, that child-witnessed violence accounts for most of the variance in adolescent aggression, and that neither measures of family violence interacts with gender.     

Exposure to domestic and community violence in a nonrisk sample: associations with child functioning

Limited data exist on the unique, additive, and interactive effects of exposure to domestic and community violence on children's functioning, particularly in community samples. This study examined relations between children's violence exposure, at home and in the community, and symptoms of externalizing and internalizing problems. Parents reported on domestic violence in the home, and children reported on community violence. Concurrent child functioning was measured through parent and teacher reports on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and child self-reports on the Children's Depression Inventory. A multi-ethnic sample of 117 children, aged 8 to 12 years, and their parents and teachers participated. Community violence was related to all measures of children's adjustment, whereas exposure to domestic violence was related only to CBCL externalizing problems. Teacher reports of child aggression were predicted by child age, community violence, and the interaction of community and domestic violence. Implications for research and clinical intervention are discussed.     

Exposure to Family Violence in Young At-Risk Children: A Longitudinal Look at the Effects of Victimization and Witnessed Physical and Psychological Aggression

This study examines the contribution of specific types of family violence exposure (e.g., victim vs. witness; physical vs. psychological) to aggressive and anxious/depressed problem behaviors in young (i.e., 6-year-old) at-risk children. This multisite prospective study of 682 children from four different regions of the country asked mothers and their 6-year-old children to report on violence exposure in their families. After controlling for mother reports of child problem behaviors on the Child Behavior Checklist at Age 4, it was found that subsequent exposure to family violence predicted reported problem behaviors at Age 6. Although mothers' report of child victimization predicted subsequent problem behaviors, witnessed violence was related to these problems only when both mothers and children reported its occurrence. The results of this study suggest that even though there was a relationship between witnessed and directly experienced family violence, both had independent, noninteractive effects on subsequent behavior problems.     

The Effect of Maternal Victimization on Children: A Cross-Informant Study

The impact of maternal victimization on the behavioral, social, emotional, and cognitive development in a group of 206 low-income, predominantly African American children from inner city, pediatric primary health care clinics was explored using mother, teacher, and self-report data. Results revealed that mothers with a victimization history reported more externalizing and internalizing behaviors in their children, compared to mothers who had not been victimized. Maternal victimization history was not related to teachers' ratings of children's behavior, child reports of social competence and depression, or standardized assessments of cognitive development. The relation between mothers' history of victimization and their reports of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in their children was mediated by pathways through maternal depression and disciplinary practices (verbal aggression). These findings provide evidence for the link between maternal victimization and children's behavior problems. Treatment for victimized mothers that reduces their depressive symptoms and promotes adaptive parenting practices may lead to fewer behavior problems in their children.     

Postshelter adjustment of children from violent families

Few studies have examined the adjustment of battered women and their children after exiting domestic violence shelters. Participants were 62 women who had endured severe partner abuse, completed a shelter program with their children, and resided in the community for at least 6 months. Field interviews concerned mothers' and children's abuse histories and included measures of maternal depression, maternal trauma, and child behavior problems. Nearly all women had lived violence free since shelter exit. Child internalizing behaviors were associated with direct abuse, maternal depression, and shelter program. Externalizing behaviors were related to maternal depression and shelter program. Neither severity of interparental violence nor maternal trauma symptoms was related to child behavior problems. Mothers' family of-origin abuse predicted current satisfaction with child functioning, beyond the effects of maternal depression and child behavioral problems. Findings suggest a need for postshelter therapeutic services and further research addressing the adjustment of such families.     

Female inmates, family caregivers, and young children's adjustment: A research agenda and implications for corrections programming

Attendant to the exponential increase in rates of incarceration of mothers with young children in the United States, programming has been established to help mothers attend to parenting skills and other family concerns while incarcerated. Unfortunately, most programs overlook the important, ongoing relationship between incarcerated mothers and family members caring for their children—most often, the inmates' own mothers. Research reveals that children's behavior problems escalate when different co-caregivers fail to coordinate parenting efforts and interventions, work in opposition, or disparage or undermine one another. This article presents relevant research on co-caregiving and child adjustment, highlights major knowledge gaps in need of study to better understand incarcerated mothers and their families, and proposes that existing interventions with such mothers can be strengthened through targeting and cultivating functional coparenting alliances in families.     

The relationship between domestic violence and animal abuse: an Australian study

Several North American studies have found a connection between domestic violence and animal abuse. This article reports on the first Australian research to examine this connection. A group of 102 women recruited through 24 domestic violence services in the state of Victoria and a nondomestic violence comparison group (102 women) recruited from the community took part in the study. Significantly higher rates of partner pet abuse, partner threats of pet abuse, and pet abuse by other family members were found in the violent families compared with the nondomestic violence group. As hypothesized, children from the violent families were reported by their mothers to have witnessed and committed significantly more animal abuse than children from the nonviolent families. Logistic regression analyses revealed, for the group as a whole, that a woman whose partner had threatened the pets was 5 times more likely to belong to the intimate partner violence group.     

Children's experiences of domestic violence: developing an integrated response from police and child protection services

Police notifications of incidents of domestic violence to child protection services constitute an acknowledgement of the harm that domestic violence inflicts on children. However, these notifications represent a substantial demand on child welfare services and the outcomes for children and victims of domestic violence have been questioned. This paper presents findings from the first UK study to examine these notifications in depth and examines the interface between the police and child protection services in responding to domestic violence incidents. The research reports on police interventions in 251 incidents of domestic violence involving children; the communication of information to child protection services and the subsequent filtering and service response. Social workers found that notifications conveyed little information on children's experiences of domestic violence. Forty per cent of families notified had had no previous contact with child protection services in that area, but those cases most likely to receive social work assessment or intervention were those where the case was already open. Notifications triggered a new social work intervention in only 5% of cases. The study also identified a range of innovative approaches for improving the co-ordination of police and child protective services in relation to children's exposure to domestic violence. Arrangements that maximized opportunities for police and social workers to share agency information appeared to offer the best option for achieving informed decisions about the appropriate level of service response to children and families experiencing domestic violence.     

Children’s Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence: Causes,Consequences, and Coping

Children’s appraisals of conflictual and aggressive parental interactions mediate their effect on children’s adjustment. Previous studies have relied almost exclusively on self-report questionnaires to assess appraisals; consequently we know little about perceptions that occur naturally when children witness interparental aggression. This study employed a semi-structured interview to assess the thoughts and feelings of 34 children (ages 7–12) whose mothers were receiving services at domestic violence agencies, and mothers reported on interparental aggression that took place in the home. Children’s thoughts centered on consequences and efforts to understand why fights occurred. They generally viewed their mother’s partner as responsible for violence, though a significant number viewed both parents as playing a role. Sadness and anger were more common than anxiety, and children often attempted to stop or withdraw from fights or both. When asked why family violence occurs, most focused on perpetrators’ lack of control of anger or personal characteristics, but approximately one-third viewed victims as provoking aggression. These findings support the idea that children actively attempt to understand the causes and consequences of interparental violence and suggest that their perceptions and interpretations are important for understanding the development of beliefs regarding the use of violence in close relationships.     

The Relation Between Intimate Partner Violence, Parenting Stress, and Child Behavior Problems

Parenting characteristics can have a significant influence on how children are affected by family violence. The purpose of this study was to explore the role women’s parenting stress plays in the relationship between exposure to physical and psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) and children’s externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Data for this study were taken from three waves of the Illinois Families Study. The final sample included 1,653 children from 805 families. Structural equation modeling analyses were conducted across two developmental stages in order to better understand the unique relationships based on child development. For children ages 6–12 years, parenting stress mediated the relationship between exposure to psychological IPV and internalizing behaviors. No direct or indirect pathways between exposure to IPV and children’s behavior problems were found among adolescents ages 13–17. Implications for social service interventions with children and families exposed to violence are included.     

A Feasibility Pilot Intervention Program to Teach Parenting Skills to Mothers of Poly-Victimized Children

The Parceria (Partnership) Project is a Brazilian intervention program designed for mothers with an intimate partner violence (IPV) history. Its short term goal is to teach parenting skills to abused women, and in the long term, to prevent behavioral problems in their children. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of the Parceria Project with mothers of children who had experienced multiple forms of maltreatment (poly-victimization), as it was expected that most of the mothers would also have a history of IPV. Seventeen Brazilian mothers took part in this intervention. They completed several types of evaluation. The intervention program using a cognitive-behavioral model took place in each family’s home. All mothers completed the intervention and evaluated the project positively. The study showed that it is feasible to conduct interventions with families who face severe psychosocial risk such as family violence.     

Characteristics of young children exposed to violence: the safe start demonstration project

The Safe Start demonstration projects, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) under the first phase of the Safe Start initiative, are primarily designed to influence change at the systems or macrolevels to reduce the incidence of and impact of exposure to violence for children aged birth to 6 years; direct services are also provided to young children and their families who were exposed to violence. The data presented in this article come from 10 communities that submitted data regarding the characteristics of young children exposed to violence to OJJDP. These data represent families who are typically not represented in the databases of state child protective services programs but instead have been identified by domestic violence advocates, early care and education providers, family members, court personnel, police, and other social service personnel as families with young children in need of intervention due to violence exposure.The purpose of this article is to describe the characteristics of young children and their parents who seek help for psychosocial problems related to exposure to family and community violence. Results indicate that one quarter of the children and nearly half of their parents evidenced clinical levels of stress, suggesting the need to intervene at the family level as well as at the individual level when working with young children exposed to violence. The information presented, including the extent of exposure to violence, the multiple types of violence to which children are exposed, the impact of this exposure on young children and their families, and the multiple ways in which families exposed to violence come to the attention of service providers is useful for policy makers and service providers who are interested in breaking the cycle of violence by meeting the needs of the children exposed to violence and their families.     

Continuity and Pathways from Aggression in Childhood to Family Violence in Adulthood: A 30-year Longitudinal Study

Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behavior in both girls and boys are predictive of later violent behavior, including violence that takes place within family contexts. Utilizing the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a study of individuals recruited as children in the 1970s from inner-city schools in Montreal, this study examined different pathways whereby aggressive behavioral styles in childhood may place individuals at risk for continuing patterns of violence towards children and spouses. Childhood aggression directly predicted self-reported violence towards spouse for both sexes, with indirect routes through lowered educational attainment and marital separation. Aggression in childhood was also found to predict parents’ self-reports of using violence with their children. For mothers, educational attainment and current absence of the biological father from the child’s home also played important roles in predicting violent behavior towards offspring. These findings provide evidence of both continuity of aggressive behavior and indirect risk paths to family violence, via lower educational attainment and parental absence. In both men and women, childhood aggression may be an identifiable precursor of family violence and child abuse.     

Sex Differences in Physical and Indirect Aggression: A Developmental Perspective

Males generally use aggression more often than females. However, the magnitude of difference between the sexes varies widely according to the type of aggression that is considered, and according to the developmental period studied. Taking a developmental perspective, this paper reviews research that compares the progression of physical aggression (predominantly used by males) with indirect aggression (predominantly used by females) among males and females. Existing empirical evidence indicates that most children cease to use physical aggression during the course of childhood, but that a minority fails to do so. This group is comprised of children with high, stable levels of PA and is mostly male. Overall, most children use low levels of IA, but there is one group that uses this type of aggression with increasing frequency. This group is mostly female. Importantly, the differences between the sexes are not stable over time. Rather, while the gap between males and females is present during preschool years, it widens considerably during childhood and preadolescence. A review of hypotheses based on evolution, biology and social learning provides critical insight into the origins and development of sex differences in aggression over the life course. We conclude by arguing that violence in males may be effectively reduced through early, sustained intervention with high-risk mothers.     

FAMILY ORIGINS OF VIOLENT DELINQUENTS*

Family is central to contemporary theories of delinquent and violent behavior. Yet, the processes by which families shape violent behavior in their children are not well understood. In the past, structural views posited that a weak family exposed a child to the evils of the street. More recently, functionalists have suggested that the family plays an active role in socializing youths to violent behaviors through supervision and discipline practices and modeling and reinforcement of antisocial behaviors. Integrated theories presume that socially disorganized families weaken children's conventional bonds and attachments, leading to associations with delinquent peers and in turn antisocial behavior. However, the influence of the family as a socializing environment may shift over time, and some suggest that its influence is overshadowed during adolescence by that of other social domains—schools, neighborhoods, peers, and work. This study describes the family processes and environments of (n = 98) chronically violent delinquents. Interviews with youths and their mothers assessed family social process and environments and the social domains and institutions with which they interact. Analyses of youth reports of family environments and processes yield three family types: “interactionist” families exhibiting a high degree of internal interaction and bonding; “hierarchical” families characterized by parental dominance and the presence of family bond and interaction patterns; and “antisocial” families marked by criminality and family violence. Family variables have weaker explanatory power than do other social influences on violent delinquency. The relative contributions of family supervision practices and school environment varied by crime type. Social influences outside the family appear as stronger contributors to delinquency and violence during adolescence, regardless of early childhood experiences. The results underscore the importance of integrating social policies regarding family, crime, and neighborhood.