Testing the Spillover Effect of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization on Emotionally Abusive and Harsh Parenting Practices: The Application of Propensity Score Matching.

Prior research reported a significant association between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and negative parenting, but there was an overreliance on U.S. samples and families from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. Therefore, this quasi-experimental study examined the association between recent IPV victimization and abusive parenting practices in a sample of community-based women from Poland. Participants were mothers of children aged 2 to 5 years (N = 610) attending an outpatient clinic located in a city in south-eastern Poland. Mothers were asked about their IPV experiences in the past 12 months and were classed as either IPV positive or IPV negative. Outcome measures assessed emotionally abusive and harsh parenting practices. All data were collected online. To reduce bias in background characteristics (i.e., age, education, employment status, financial distress, self-esteem, childhood violence history, alcohol problems, current mental distress, social support, exposure to COVID-19-pandemic-related stressors, and child sex), we applied the propensity score matching (PSM) technique. Group differences before and after matching were examined using independent samples t-tests. Prematching analyses revealed that IPV-positive mothers used significantly more emotionally abusive and harsh parenting practices than IPV-negative mothers. However, the two samples differed substantially on six background characteristics which are known risk factors for IPV and child maltreatment (financial distress, self-esteem, childhood violence history, current mental distress, social support, and exposure to COVID-19-pandemic-related stressors). PSM was successful in reducing those imbalances. Postmatching group comparisons were statistically nonsignificant for emotionally abusive and harsh parenting, disproving the spillover hypothesis. We conclude that IPV victimization is not related to emotionally abusive and harsh parenting practices when controlling for confounding variables.

Comparison of Person-Centered and Cumulative Risk Approaches in Explaining the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Behavioral and Emotional Problems.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) commonly co-occur, and researchers often estimate their impact using a cumulative risk approach. The person-centered approach offers another approach to operationalize the co-occurrence of ACEs. This study aims to estimate latent classes of ACEs in a sample of U.K. children, examine their relationship with emotional and behavioral problems, and compare the explanatory value of the latent classes to cumulative risk scores. Data were collected among a general population sample of British 10-year-old children extracted from the U.K. Household Longitudinal Study (N = 601). Seven items characterized ACEs, comprising parent-report physical discipline, emotional abuse, supervisory neglect, maternal psychological distress, child-report parental educational disinterest, bullying victimization, and adverse neighborhood. Outcome measures were derived from the self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire including total difficulties, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, and prosocial behavior. Latent class analysis resulted in a three-class solution: low ACEs, household challenges, and community challenges. Compared to the other classes, the community challenges class scored substantially worse on total difficulties, emotional symptoms, and peer subscales. The cumulative risk score was associated with all outcomes except prosocial behavior. Cumulative risk models accounted for a larger proportion of variance compared with the latent class models, except for peer problems which the person-centered model explained better. This study confirms that ACEs are associated with impairment in child functioning, and that both person-centered and cumulative risk approaches can capture this relationship well. Specifically, the person-centered approach demonstrated how co-occurring risk factors in the community challenges class produced particularly poor internalizing outcomes.

The Effect of Victim Attractiveness and Type of Abuse Suffered on Attributions of Victim Blame and Credibility in Intimate Partner Violence: A Vignette-Based Online Experiment.

Victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) are frequently blamed and disbelieved, which may affect their willingness to report their abuse experiences. This vignette-based online experiment examines whether victim attractiveness (attractive vs. unattractive) and the type of abuse suffered (psychological vs. psychological plus physical abuse) may impact attributions of victim blame or victim credibility. The final sample included 167 UK residents (79% females) aged between 18 and 66 years (M = 33.17, SD = 11.26). Results indicated that the attractive victim was judged as being more credible than the unattractive victim. Results are discussed in light of societal attitudes toward IPV.

Links of Adversity in Childhood With Mental and Physical Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Mediating and Moderating Mechanisms.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with causes of early death, addiction, mental illness, and poor health. However, studies investigating underlying mechanisms often rely on cross-sectional data or inappropriate study designs. To prevent the negative sequelae associated with ACEs, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms underlying the prospective relationship. The aim of this present review was to provide a synthesis and critical evaluation of the literature regarding the mechanisms underlying this relationship. A search in SCOPUS, MedLine via Ovid, PsycINFO via Ovid, and Web of Science was performed. Studies that utilised a prospective design assessing ACEs in childhood or adolescence, outcomes in adulthood, and analysed either a mediating or moderating relationship were included, unless the study relied on informant report or official records to assess childhood maltreatment types of ACEs. Twenty-two studies examining a longitudinal mediation or moderation were included in a systematic review. A review of the studies found links to psychopathology, delinquent and problem behaviours, poor physical health, and poor socioeconomic outcomes. A clear image of underlying mechanisms is not forthcoming due to (a) poor study design in relation to assessing longitudinal mechanisms, and (b) heterogeneity in the adversities, mechanisms, and outcomes assessed. Based on the review, several gaps and limitations are highlighted and discussed.

Profiles of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization: A Systematic Review.

Person-centered approaches, such as latent class analysis (LCA) and latent profile analysis (LPA), aid the identification of subgroups within sample populations. These methods can identify the patterns of co-occurrence between different forms of intimate partner violence (IPV), providing valuable information for prevention and intervention efforts. The aim of this systematic review was to yield a summary and conduct a critical evaluation of the current research that utilizes LCA/LPA to investigate IPV victimization profiles. We provide an outline of 14 relevant studies, retrieved from searches conducted on PsycInfo, Scopus, and Eric databases. There was a large amount of variability in relation to the forms of IPV assessed, measures utilized, number of classes identified, and the sample populations recruited. However, broad similarities were revealed as there were some commonly identified classes, including the no/low violence class, the physical and psychological victimization class, and the multiple victimization class, yet the labels assigned to those classes differed across studies. A range of external criteria (risk factors and consequences) were also identified as being associated with class membership. We highlight the methodological features which may have impacted data collection and class enumeration, including the differences in sample population, the range of IPV indicators assessed, the time period from which IPV data were recorded, and whether data were collected regarding participants' current or previous relationships. Marginalized populations were underrepresented, and psychological abuse was most inconsistently operationalized. Recommendations for future research are provided, including recommendations with regard to labeling the classes for greater consistency across studies.