Intimate Partner Violence and Child and Adolescent Cognitive Development: A Systematic Review.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health and human rights issue, with millions of children affected worldwide. While several reviews have explored the emotional-behavioural functioning of children exposed to IPV, this review aimed to examine the relationship between children's exposure to IPV and their cognitive development, and to identify associated factors such as aspects of parenting. The databases MEDLINE, PsycInfo, EMBASE, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, CINAHL, and ERIC were searched using key words related to IPV, such as domestic, family, partner, interparental, spousal, marital, violence, abuse, aggression, assault, combined with key words related to cognitive functioning, such as neuropsychological, executive, intelligence, learning, memory, and key words related to children and adolescents. A total of 38 studies met the criteria for review which included reporting an estimate of the relationship between IPV and cognition using direct assessments of cognitive functioning. Approximately 70% of studies found a relationship between IPV and poorer cognitive functioning, with general IQ the most frequently assessed domain of functioning, followed by verbal abilities and academic skills. Most studies assessed skills during early childhood, with fewer studies assessing children during middle childhood and adolescence. Results were consistent across cognitive domains and developmental stages. In terms of factors associated with IPV and cognition, a range of demographic, individual, and family factors were included, with several studies exploring mediating and moderating mechanisms. The findings suggest that IPV in childhood is associated with poorer cognitive skills across a range of domains. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic and Australian parents with young children at risk of interparental conflict.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for families across the world, with those who have recently had a baby particularly vulnerable to increased stress Study Aim: The current study aimed to explore the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic of families who have recently had a baby in Melbourne, Australia. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with sixteen parents participating in a family-based intervention during early parenthood and seven clinicians who delivered the program. RESULTS: Parents and clinicians described impacts of the pandemic on parent and family functioning included mental health concerns, stress and irritability, feelings of isolation, and increased relationship tension. Parents discussed coping strategies used during the crisis, including activities with their family, connecting with others, trying to stay positive, and self-care activities such as spending time outdoors. Both parents and clinicians acknowledged the importance of mental health and parenting support during and following the pandemic, and for these services to be promoted and easily accessible. DISCUSSION: The study highlights the mental health and parenting support needs of families during times of crisis and emphasises the importance of early intervention for families exhibiting poor communication and relationship tension.

Intimate partner violence during infancy and cognitive outcomes in middle childhood: Results from an Australian community-based mother and child cohort study.

The cognitive functioning of children who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) has received less attention than their emotional-behavioral outcomes. Drawing upon data from 615 (48.4% female) 10-year-old Australian-born children and their mothers (9.6% of mothers born in non-English speaking countries) participating in a community-based longitudinal study between 2004 and 2016, this study examined the associations between IPV in infancy and cognition in middle childhood (at age 10). Results showed that IPV in the first 12 months of life was associated with lower general cognitive ability and poorer executive attention but not working memory skills. IPV in middle childhood (in the 10th year postpartum) was not associated with cognition. This study provides evidence for the long-term impact of early life exposure to IPV on children's cognition, and points to the importance of early intervention to optimize development.

Facilitators to Engagement in a Mother-Child Therapeutic Intervention Following Intimate Partner Violence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects more than one in four children worldwide. Despite the growing evidence base for interventions addressing children's IPV exposure, little is known about what assists families to engage with services. The current study sought to explore women's perceptions of barriers and facilitators to accessing an intervention for their children following IPV. A total of 16 mothers who had engaged in a community-based, dyadic intervention for children exposed to IPV participated in the study. The Brief Relational Intervention and Screening (BRISC) is an evidenced informed program designed by Berry Street (Australia). A pilot of the intervention was implemented across one metropolitan and one regional site. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 mothers who had completed BRISC. Transcripts were analyzed in NVivo using thematic analysis. Key facilitators to initial engagement included strong referral pathways, clear information about the program, and initial phone contact from the service. Difficulty trusting services were identified as a key barrier to initial engagement. Facilitators of continued engagement included flexibility in service delivery, consistent and direct communication between sessions, and the therapeutic approach. Key barriers to sustained intervention engagement included children's continued contact with their father, mothers' experiences of guilt and blame, and the need for additional support for mothers' own mental health. These findings highlight how service and clinician factors such as flexibility, therapeutic approaches, and communication can facilitate engagement for families affected by IPV. In addition, the study highlights the importance of including the voices of women in research to improve the acceptability of services for consumers.

Providing therapeutic services to women and children who have experienced intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and learnings.

BACKGROUND: In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many therapeutic services for children and their parents who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) were required to rapidly transition to telehealth. OBJECTIVE: The current study aims to explore parents' experiences of participating in a parent-child telehealth intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also aimed at exploring clinicians' experiences of delivering the service, including key strengths and challenges. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were five mothers who took part in Berry Street's Restoring Childhood service during the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne, Australia, and 14 Restoring Childhood clinicians, delivering the service across metropolitan and regional sites. METHODS: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted, and data were analysed using thematic analysis to determine key themes and sub-themes within the data. RESULTS: Parents identified several strengths and benefits of Restoring Childhood delivered via telehealth including improvements in parenting skills and confidence, parent-child relationships, and children's emotional-behavioural functioning. Both parents and clinicians noted the creativity utilised during the online approach, and the increased accessibly it offered for families. However, challenges to the telehealth approaches were also noted. Clinicians discussed important considerations for telehealth within this context including safety and confidentiality, technology challenges, and challenges working from home. CONCLUSIONS: The current study highlights the promise of telehealth interventions for parents and children who have experienced IPV. It also poses several important considerations for the use of telehealth within this setting and emphasises the need for rigorous evaluations of telehealth services for children exposed to IPV.

Capturing the experiences of clinicians implementing a new brief intervention for parents and children who have experienced family violence in Australia.

Family violence (FV) affects one in four families. While the evidence regarding therapeutic interventions for children and families who experience FV is expanding, little research has been conducted about clinicians' experiences of implementation. The current study aimed to capture the voices of clinicians delivering a brief dyadic intervention for women and their children after FV exposure. The Brief Relational Intervention and Screening (BRISC) is an evidence-informed intervention designed by Berry Street (Australia) for mothers and children with recent experiences of FV. Consisting of four sessions, BRISC was implemented across one regional and one metropolitan site. Thirteen BRISC clinicians participated in semi-structured interviews individually or in a focus group. Thematic analysis of transcripts was conducted using NVivo. Clinicians considered key strengths of BRISC to be related to the intervention principles, including the hopeful and relationship-focused approach, the intervention implementation such as the timing, structure and flexibility, as well as the systems and processes in place, such as intake and triage, supervision structure and their team environment. Challenges described by clinicians included aspects of delivery such as limited referral options and safety concerns, the nature of the program including the mechanics of delivery and specific role challenges such as vicarious trauma. Clinicians also shared suggestions for improvements for delivery, supervision and training. This study emphasises the importance of clinician perspectives when identifying factors that can promote the successful implementation of innovative interventions in real-world community settings.

Born criminal? Differences in structural, functional and behavioural lateralization between criminals and noncriminals.

Over 100 years ago Lombroso [(1876/2006). Criminal man. Durham: Duke University Press] proposed a biological basis for criminality. Based on inspection of criminals' skulls he theorized that an imbalance of the cerebral hemispheres was amongst 18 distinguishing features of the criminal brain. Specifically, criminals were less lateralized than noncriminals. As the advent of neuroscientific techniques makes more fine-grained inspection of differences in brain structure and function possible, we review criminals' and noncriminals' structural, functional, and behavioural lateralization to evaluate the merits of Lombroso's thesis and investigate the evidence for the biological underpinning of criminal behaviour. Although the body of research is presently small, it appears consistent with Lombroso's proposal: criminal psychopaths' brains show atypical structural asymmetries, with reduced right hemisphere grey and white matter volumes, and abnormal interhemispheric connectivity. Functional asymmetries are also atypical, with criminal psychopaths showing a less lateralized cortical response than noncriminals across verbal, visuo-spatial, and emotional tasks. Finally, the incidence of non-right-handedness is higher in criminal than non-criminal populations, consistent with reduced cortical lateralization. Thus despite Lombroso's comparatively primitive and inferential research methods, his conclusion that criminals' lateralization differs from that of noncriminals is borne out by the neuroscientific research. How atypical cortical asymmetries predispose criminal behaviour remains to be determined.