Although most children remain well-adjusted during the first year of treatment, many caregivers experience clinically relevant symptoms of psychological distress. Implications for development of interventions targeting at-risk patients and caregivers are discussed. Identifying processes that predict between-family variability in trajectories of psychopathology is an important next step. (PsycINFO Database Record

The current study describes a promising new emotion coaching (EC) parenting intervention for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) targeting emotion regulation (ER) and parent–child relationships. We discuss the development of an EC parenting intervention, outline its key elements, and use preliminary pilot data to illustrate how such a behavioral intervention can yield improvements in behavioral and physiological indices of ER (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and parent–child relationships and reductions in mental health difficulties in IPV-exposed mothers and their children. A 12-week skills-based EC parenting program was developed and administered in groups. Fifty mothers were assigned to intervention or waitlist groups. Physiological, observational, and questionnaire data were obtained pre- and postintervention. Because of the small sample size, effect sizes were examined for illustrative purposes of potential effects of the EC intervention. Relative to mothers in waitlist group, mothers in the intervention group showed (a) improvements in emotion awareness and coaching, (b) increases in ER as assessed by baseline RSA, (c) increased use of validation and decreased use of sermonizing/lecturing/scolding during parent–child interaction, and (d) increased sense of parenting competence. Relative to children of mothers in the waitlist group, children of mothers in the intervention group showed (a) increases in ER as measured by parent-report and baseline RSA, (b) decreases in negativity during parent–child interaction, and (c) decreases in depressive symptoms. Discussion highlights potential usefulness of an EC parenting intervention for populations at risk for ER and parenting difficulties.

Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are high among female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), and children of parents experiencing PTSS are at heightened risk for a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems. Parenting has significant influence on child adjustment, and although links have been found between parental psychopathology and maladaptive parenting, little is known about the factors that may explain this relation. The current study examines mother's emotion regulation (ER) as a factor influencing the relation between mother PTSS and parenting around children's emotions in a study sample of sixty-four female survivors of IPV and their 6- to 12-year-old children. Mothers reported on their own PTSS and their parenting. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was used as a psychophysiological index of mother's ER. Experiential components of mother's ER was also measured by observer coding of the Meta-Emotion Interview, a structured assessment that asks parents about their attitudes toward and experiences with emotions, including their regulation of emotions. Mother's RSA reactivity moderated the relation between PTSS and negative parenting. There was also a significant indirect relation between mothers' PTSS symptom severity and supportive parenting reactions through mothers' self-report of ER. Results suggest that mother's ER abilities represent factors that significantly affect associations between maternal PTSS and parent's emotion socialization practices. Implications for assessment and intervention with families exposed to the stress of IPV are discussed.

Implications for development of interventions that target at-risk family relationships are discussed. Identifying processes that predict between-family variability in trajectories of family relationships is an important next step, particularly for the marital relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is a traumatic life event. Almost 50 percent of IPV‐exposed children show subsequent post‐traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and they are at increased risk for depression. We examined maternal emotion socialization and children's emotion regulation as a pathway that may protect IPV‐exposed children from developing PTSS and depression. Fifty‐eight female survivors of IPV and their 6‐ to 12‐year‐old children participated. Results showed no direct relations between maternal emotion socialization and child adjustment. However, several indirect effects were observed. Higher mother awareness and acceptance of sadness and awareness of fear predicted better child sadness and fear regulation, respectively, which in turn was related to fewer child PTSS. Similar indirect pathways were found with child depression. In addition, mothers’ acceptance and coaching of anger was associated with better child anger regulation, which related to fewer depression symptoms. Implications for prevention and intervention with high‐risk families are discussed.