Prenatal and Cumulative Intimate Partner Violence Influences Maternal and Child Contributions in Emotion Conversations

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy is a risk factor for poor parenting (Chiesa et al., 2018) while children’s cumulative IPV exposure has deleterious effects on child functioning (Graham-Bermann & Perkins, 2010). One relational dynamic impacted by experiences of trauma is maternal-child emotion conversations which, in turn, affect child socioemotional development (Valentino et al, 2015). Few studies have specifically examined IPV and mother-child emotion conversations. These studies (Overbeek et al, 2018; Visser et al, 2016) did not examine prenatal exposure, included a wide range of child ages (4-18 years) and examined IPV occurrence (presence vs. absence, rather than amount) at a single time point. The present study addressed these gaps using a prospective, longitudinal IPV sample of mothers and children (N=206; Table 1). Given that IPV during pregnancy uniquely predicts parenting, we hypothesized that prenatal IPV and cumulative IPV would independently predict maternal contributions in emotion conversations while only cumulative IPV would predict child contributions. IPV was first assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy and measured annually between ages 1 and 7. Age 1-7 assessments were summed to create a cumulative IPV variable. Observed conflict discussions between mothers and their 7-year-old children were coded using the Autobiographical Emotional Events Dialogue (AEED) (Koren-Karie et al., 2000). Excellent inter-rater reliability was achieved for all maternal and child codes (ICCs ranging from .92 to 1.0). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 3rd edition (Dunn & Dunn, 1997) was covaried to control for child expressive language.

Path analysis were conducted in Mplus (Mplus version 8; Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2017) to account for missing data and multivariate, ordinal outcomes. Results are displayed in Table 2. Prenatal IPV was associated with greater maternal shift of focus and less acceptance and tolerance. Maternal shift of focus is characterized by difficulty constructing coherent narratives due to repetition, focus on mother’s own emotions, and attempts to control the child’s behavior. Low acceptance and tolerance are marked by an inability to freely express thoughts and feelings due to criticism and expressed dissatisfaction. Cumulative IPV during the child’s lifetime predicted less maternal and child acceptance and tolerance of one another. Results supported our hypotheses; prenatal IPV impacted maternal, but not child, outcomes while cumulative IPV predicted matched deficits in acceptance and tolerance between mothers and children, indicating that the impact of IPV on parenting begins before children are even born. Violence-exposed mothers might attempt to control their children’s contributions in emotion conversations to avoid post-traumatic triggers, with downstream consequences for children’s participation in conversations (Visser et al., 2016). Findings underscore the importance of longitudinal assessment of risk factors to elucidate how the developmental timing of exposure contributes to maternal-child outcomes. Because the quality of emotion conversations in IPV exposed mother-child dyads can be improved via intervention leading to enhanced physiological regulation in children (Valentino et al., 2020), our findings suggest that families exposed to IPV prenatally and during the child’s lifetime represent a risk group that might benefit from interventions targeting emotion conversations to improve child functioning.

Authors

• Jennie Marie Boulus, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author

• Alexandra Lauren Ballinger, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Amy K. Nuttall, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alytia Akiko Levendosky, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• G. Anne Bogat, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author