Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence throughout the Lifespan
Predicts Parenting Outcomes
Jessica Riggs, M.S., Erica Rouleau, B.A., Meredith Merlanti, B.A., Emily Gutman & Alissa C. Huth-Bocks, Ph.D.
Eastern Michigan University
INTRODUCTION
Researchers are interested in knowing how experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) at different points in the lifespan impact parenting
practices later in life. Cunningham (2003) found that parents who experienced or witnessed violence during childhood were more likely to
engage in child abuse once they became parents. In their review of the literature, Gallagher, Huth-Bocks, and Levendosky (2009) note that
parental experiences of IPV may impact parenting practices and related child outcomes, and that these effects may depend on the age of the
child that is being raised in the context of IPV. When IPV leads to trauma symptoms, responsive and warm parenting practices may in turn
be reduced. Specifically, mothers who perceive their children as “difficult” tend to be less responsive and less sensitive than those who
experience their children as “easy”. This is related to the mother’s sense of lost control, which may be heightened in mothers who
experience adult IPV (Donovan & Leavitt, 2013).
Research Aim:
  The current study investigates how experiences of IPV throughout different points in the lifespan predict caregiving behaviors in
adulthood. More chronic experiences of IPV are expected to predict more consistently negative parenting practices, while no
experience of IPV is expected to predict more sensitive and attuned caregiving. Differences in parenting behaviors among mothers
who have been exposed to IPV only in childhood or only in adulthood are explored and compared to the other groups.
METHOD
Participants
•  Age: Mean = 26; Range = 18 – 42, SD = 5.7
• Monthly Income: Median = $1,500
•  88% receive services from WIC, and 90% have public health
insurance
• Family Status: Single Parents = 64%; First-Time Mothers = 30%
• Race: African American = 47%, Caucasian = 36%, Biracial = 12%,
Other = 5%
• Education: Some college = 57%, High school or less = 20%,
College or graduate degree = 13%
RESULTS
First, groups were created based on timing of exposure to physical or sexual
IPV. Participants who reported witnessing IPV between their parents during
childhood but did not experience IPV with a partner in adulthood were placed
in the “Childhood Only” group. Participants who did not witness IPV between
parents during childhood, but experienced IPV with a partner in adulthood
were placed in the “Adulthood Only” group. Participants who witnessed IPV
during childhood and also experienced IPV as an adult were placed into the
“Persistent IPV” group, and finally, participants who denied exposure to
parental violence and IPV in adulthood were placed in the “No IPV” group
(see Table 1).
Table 1 Participants by IPV Exposure n No IPV 17
Childhood Only 9 Adulthood Only 32 Persistent IPV 30 88*
% 19.32% 10.23% 36.36% 34.09% 100% *88 participants completed video data
Next, a MANOVA was used to compare participants who experienced different types of IPV on self-report measures and
observer ratings of parenting outcomes. The overall MANOVA analysis tested for differences on the CHQ subscales, the MBQS,
and all of the observed maternal behavior and affect. Since the overall MANOVA model was significant, comparisons were made
between groups. Here it was found that different type of exposure to IPV significantly predicted differences in observed maternal
variables, such as sensitivity (F = 2.91, p < .05), interference (F = 3.22, p <.05) and frightening behaviors (F = 3.47, p < .05). For
sensitivity and interference, participants who were exposed to IPV only in adulthood were observed to be less sensitive and more
interfering than those that experienced IPV only in childhood. Additionally, participants who only experienced IPV in adulthood
displayed significantly more frightening behaviors than participants who experienced no IPV (see Table 2).
Procedures
A community sample of pregnant women (N = 120) was recruited in southeast Michigan. During the third trimester of their pregnancy (T1),
participants completed questionnaires about their personal history, current and past relationships, psychosocial experiences, and general
health. The women were tracked every 3 months with phone calls and home visits and were interviewed again when their child was 3
months old (T2; n = 119), 1 year old (T3; n = 114), and 2 years old (T4; n = 99). During 2 waves of data collection (T3 & T4), the women
were videotaped during a 10-minute free-play interval with their child. For this study, data about maternal experiences of intimate partner
violence (IPV) were collected at all waves, and parenting behaviors were assessed via self-report and observation of video interactions at
T4.
Videotaped play interactions were coded to assess maternal affect and behavior by a team of undergraduate and graduate students who
were trained by an “expert coder”. Coders were first trained as a group using 10 video interactions. In order to establish reliability, coders
then individually viewed and assessed maternal behavior and affect for approximately 20% of the sample (n = 20). Once reliability was
established, videos were rated by individual coders and were periodically checked for rater drift by the expert coder.
Measures
Timing of IPV Exposure
•  The Record of Maltreatment Experiences (ROME; Diamond & Muller, 2004; Wolfe & McGee, 1994) was used at T4 to measure physical (intimate
partner violence witnessed as a child (α =.94) .
•  The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus, Murray & Hamby, 1998) was used at T4 to measure adult experiences of IPV (α =.84).
Maternal Caregiving
•  The Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire (CHQ; George & Solomon, 1998, 2007) was used at T4 to measure maternal helplessness and
frightened caregiving. The Mother Helpless (α = .77) and Mother-Child Frightened (α =.44) subscales were used.
Maternal Behavior
•  The Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (MBQS; Pederson et al., 1999; Bailey, Bisceglia, Roche, Jenkins, & Moran, 2009; Tarabulsy et al., 2008) is a 25 item
home observation measure of maternal sensitivity toward her child (α = .94) .
•  Observed Maternal Behavior (Gallagher, 2011). Research assistants coded mother-child play interactions using a Likert scale (1 to 5).
•  The sensitivity scale reflects the mother’s ability to perceive and accurately interpret the infant’s signals, as well as respond to
them promptly and appropriately through behavior and/or verbalizations. ICC range from .66 to .89.
•  The engagement scale measures the degree of connectedness or involvement of the mother with the infant during play. ICC range
from .62 to .84.
•  The interference scale measures the degree of maternal interference with the infant’s goals. ICC range from .76 to .85.
•  The covert hostility scale measures indirect hostility in maternal interactions with the infant. ICC range from .80 to .90.
•  The frightened/frightening scale assesses atypical maternal behaviors and the degree to which these may frighten or confuse the
infant. ICC range from .77 to. 85.
•  Observed Maternal Affect (Gallagher, 2011). Research assistants coded mother-child play interactions using a Likert scale (1 to 5).
•  The warmth scale reflects the mother’s expression of affection for her infant, which is conveyed through positive facial
expressions, tone and content of verbalizations, and gentle physical contact. ICC range from .74 to .83.
•  The anxiety scale measures the degree of maternal tension that can manifest in a variety of ways. ICC range from .64 to .68.
•  The enthusiasm scale measures the intensity of mothers’ excitement during interactions with the infant. ICC range from .78 to .91.
•  The flat affect scale assesses for the presence or absence of maternal affective expression. ICC range from .68 to .80.
•  The overt hostility scale reflects anger and direct hostility from the mother towards the infant through verbalizations and physical
actions. ICC for this scale for all coders was .79.
DISCUSSION
This study showed that parenting practices may differ for women who have experienced IPV, depending on when in the lifespan
they were exposed to IPV. Findings suggest that exposure to IPV in adulthood for the first time may be particularly deleterious to
women shortly after giving birth. This may be because women who experience IPV for the first time as adults must expend more
resources to maintain their own safety and wellbeing, rather than using those resources to bond with and sensitively care for their
child. Further studies should focus on why women who experience IPV in adulthood only are observed to be less sensitive, and
more interfering and frightening than women who experienced IPV during childhood and again as an adult. We suspect it may be
that women with previous exposure to IPV during childhood may have better developed networks of support, or more coping
resources to deal with IPV in adulthood.
Overall, it is important to understand the challenges that women who are exposed to IPV face when parenting their children.
While clinicians may expect women who have been exposed to IPV throughout the lifespan to be most at risk for problematic
parenting, women who experience IPV for the first time as adults should not be overlooked. Additionally, it appears that
regardless of exposure to IPV, some women are able to engage in positive parenting practices. These women should be further
studied to better understand the mechanisms of resilience to IPV exposure.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are extremely grateful to the families participating in this study who allowed us to visit their homes and learn about their circumstances. We are also very grateful to the project
investigator and the graduate and undergraduate research assistants who have helped collect these data.
Thank you to our funding sources:
Eastern Michigan University Office of Research Development; American Psychoanalytic Association; International Psychoanalytic Society; The International Honor Society in
Psychology (Psi Chi)