The role of temperament in the relation between intimate partner violence and children’s psychological outcomes

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Family Context & Processes

Abstract

Every year, millions of children witness intimate partner violence (IPV), which is abuse in various forms perpetrated by a current or former romantic partner. Although exposure to IPV appears to escalate the likelihood of both internalizing and externalizing problems among children of all ages, preschool-age children experience especially high rates of exposure. However, few studies have longitudinally investigated the effects of IPV on preschool-age children. Moreover, there is substantial variability in children’s outcomes following IPV exposure, but the reasons behind this are unclear. Child temperament has been posited as a moderating factor between family environment and child outcomes, and may impact reactions to violence in the home in ways that differentially affect their psychological outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was 1) to examine the longitudinal relation between early exposure to IPV and children’s later internalizing and externalizing problems, and 2) to examine temperament as a moderator of this relation. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal study of 189 children (82 girls) whose mothers and fathers participated at the first timepoint of the study (T1) when the children were 3 years old. At T1, mothers and fathers completed the Conflicts and Problem-Solving Scales, Violence Form (CPS-V) and a modified version of the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire (ITQ). At T4, when children were 6 years old, parents completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC). Mothers and fathers each self-reported on both their own and their partner’s verbal aggression, moderate and severe physical aggression, and level of child involvement in conflict. These four subscales were averaged to create self-reported and partner-reported IPV variables for mothers and fathers. Parental reports of infant irritability and reactivity were averaged to create a single difficult temperament variable. Separate hierarchical regression analyses were conducted for mother and father-reported BASC externalizing and internalizing composites, which were regressed on each parent’s self-reported IPV and partner-reported IPV and their respective interaction terms with infant temperament. No significant interaction emerged, indicating that the relations between IPV and child psychological outcomes did not vary as a function of child temperament. An examination of main effects showed that for mothers, higher self-reports of IPV (β =.17, p=.05) and of their perceptions of partner’s IPV (β =.27, p=.002) predicted more externalizing problems; only reports of mothers’ partners’ IPV (β =.17, p=.04) predicted more internalizing problems. Although fathers’ self-reported IPV was not associated with either externalizing or internalizing problems, their reports of their partner’s IPV predicted more externalizing problems (β =.20, p=.03) and internalizing problems (β =.27, p=.003). According to both parents, more difficult infant temperament predicted more externalizing problems (Mothers: β =.26, p=.002; Fathers: β =.25, p=.007), and internalizing problems (Mothers: β =.22, p=.007; Fathers: β =.23, p=.01). These results highlight the impact of early exposure to IPV on children’s psychological outcomes across temperamental difficulty levels, and suggest a need for further exploration of possible child and family-level factors that might mitigate the impact of parental IPV on young children’s psychological outcomes.

Authors

• Minji Lee, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  Presenting Author

• Sungha Kang, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ana Uribe, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  Non-Presenting Author

• Maria M. Galano, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elizabeth A Harvey, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  Non-Presenting Author