Citation

D'Andrea W, Graham-Berman S. J. Fam. Violence 2017; 32(2): 145-155.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10896-016-9869-0

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Family and social environment may play a part in children's post-violence adjustment. The goal of this paper is to examine which factors are related to internalizing symptoms in mothers and their children exposed to intimate partner violence. Participants were 208 mothers exposed to domestic violence. Mothers responded using the Conflict Tactics Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and other standardized scales. They also reported on their children's internalizing symptoms using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). For the whole group, children's CBCL scores were related to higher maternal depression and lower maternal self-esteem. Factors determining internalizing in children varied based upon the child's race. This study illustrates the importance of factors, such as maternal depression, maternal self-esteem, violence exposure, and social support, in determining whether a child exposed to domestic violence develops internalizing symptoms, and that ecological factors may have different effects on children based on race.

Language: en