Reflective functioning (RF) has been found to be associated with motherchild interactions, but less is known about the association of fathers' self and child-focused RF and father-child relationships. Fathers who have histories of intimate partner violence (IPV) are known to have poor RF, which may impact their father-child interactions. The current study was designed to examine how types of RF are associated with father-child relationships. Pretreatment assessments and recorded, coded father-child play interactions were used to examine associations among fathers' history of adverse childhood experiences (ACES), RF and coded father-child play interactions in a sample of 47 fathers with a history of IPV use in the last 6 months with their coparent. Fathers' ACES and their child's mental states (CM) were associated with father-child dyadic play interactions. Fathers with greater ACES and higher scores on CM had the most dyadic tension and constriction during play interactions. Those with high ACES but low CM had scores similar to those with low ACES and low CM. These results indicate that fathers who have used IPV and have a history of significant adversity may benefit from interventions to increase their child-focused RF and further improve their interactions with their children.

Accurate assessment of intimate partner violence (IPV) using standardized measures can be a challenge as there is often discrepancy between partner reports, with previous research indicating very poor concordance between partners using the Conflict Tactics Scale. This study examines agreement between coparent reports of IPV using the Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI) from 282 coparent dyads referred for Fathers for Change, an IPV intervention by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Differences in partner concordance using intraclass correlations were examined based on type of violence, marital status/cohabitation, race/ethnicity and substance misuse problems. Intraclass correlations were also calculated for eight power and control items unique to the ABI. Overall agreement between coparents was poor. However, there was greater concordance about mothers’ who have used IPV toward fathers than fathers’ use of IPV toward mothers. There was lower agreement between reports of physical than psychological IPV especially for white coparents. All types of coparent relationships showed low levels of agreement, but cohabiting coparents showed the highest levels of agreement when reporting fathers’ IPV. In cases with one parent exhibiting substance misuse, concordance between reports of IPV increased. Results are consistent with prior findings that women report higher IPV than fathers even when assessments are done in the context of a DCF IPV treatment referral.