Citation

Howell KH, Graham-Bermann SA, Czyz E, Lilly M. Violence Vict. 2010; 25(2): 150-164.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043, USA. howellkh@umich.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/0886-6708.25.2.150

PMID

20514814

Abstract

This study examined why some preschool-age children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) showed deleterious outcomes and others appeared more resilient. Resilience, conceptualized as strengths in emotion regulation and prosocial skills, was evaluated using the Social Competence Scale developed by the Conduct Problem Prevention Research Group. The sample consisted of 56 mothers and their 4- to 6-year-old children exposed to IPV within the past 2 years. After controlling for relevant demographic factors, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that better parenting performance, fewer maternal mental health problems, and less severe violence exposure predicted better emotion regulation and prosocial skill scores, which in turn were negatively correlated with maladaptive child behaviors. These findings can be used to inform and enhance clinical services for children exposed to IPV.

Language: en