This study examined the association between interparental violence (IPV), child abuse and neglect, other traumatic experiences, and children’s post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and explored the moderating role of family functioning in the aftermath of IPV. One hundred and twenty IPV-exposed children (53.3 % male, M age = 9.85) and parents who were referred to community mental health centers participated in the study. Combined, IPV, child abuse and neglect, and other traumatic experiences were associated with PTS symptoms. For family functioning, higher levels of parenting stress were associated with higher levels of PTS symptoms. No moderating effects were found. To understand the variability in PTS symptoms among children exposed to IPV, other traumatic and stressful experiences need to be taken into account.

Adolescent anxiety is common, impairing and costly. Given the scale of adolescent anxiety and its impact, fresh innovations for therapy are in demand. Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) studies of adults show that by training individuals to endorse benign interpretations of ambiguous situations can improve anxious mood-states particularly in response towards stress. While, these investigations have been partially extended to adolescents with success, inconsistent training effects on anxious mood-states have been found. The present study investigated whether positive versus negative CBM-I training influenced appraisals of stress, in forty-nine adolescents, aged 15–18. Data supported the plasticity of interpretational styles, with positively-trained adolescents selecting more benign resolutions of new ambiguous situations, than negatively-trained adolescents. Positively-trained adolescents also rated recent stressors as having less impact on their lives than negatively-trained adolescents. Thus, while negative styles may increase negative responses towards stress, positive styles may boost resilience.

Many adult anxiety problems emerge in adolescence. Investigating how adolescent anxiety arises and abates is critical for understanding and preventing adult psychiatric problems. Drawing threat interpretations from ambiguous material is linked to adolescent anxiety but little research has clarified the causal nature of this relationship. Work in adults using Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) training show that manipulating negative interpretational style alters negative affect. Conversely, 'boosting' positive interpretations improves affect. Here, we extend CBM-I investigations to adolescents. Thirty-nine adolescents (13-18 years), varying in trait anxiety and selfefficacy, were randomly allocated to receive positive or negative training. Training-congruent differences emerged for subsequent interpretation style. Induced negative biases predicted a decline in positive affect in low self-efficacious adolescents only. Tentatively, our data suggest that cognitive biases predict adolescent affective symptoms in vulnerable individuals. The acquisition of positive cognitions through training has implications for prevention.

BackgroundInterparental violence is both common and harmful and impacts children’s lives directly and indirectly. Direct effects refer to affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses to interparental violence and psychosocial adjustment. Indirect effects refer to deteriorated parental availability and parent-child interaction. Standard Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy may be insufficient for children traumatized by exposure to interparental violence, given the pervasive impact of interparental violence on the family system. HORIZON is a trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy based group program with the added component of a preparatory parenting program aimed at improving parental availability; and the added component of parent-child sessions to improve parent-child interaction.Methods/designThis is a multicenter, multi-informant and multi-method randomized clinical trial study with a 2 by 2 factorial experimental design. Participants (N = 100) are children (4–12 years), and their parents, who have been exposed to interparental violence. The main aim of the study is to test the effects of two parental components as an addition to a trauma focused cognitive behavioral based group therapy for reducing children’s symptoms. Primary outcome measures are posttraumatic stress symptoms, and internalizing and externalizing problems in children. The secondary aim of the study is to test the effect of the two added components on adjustment problems in children and to test whether enhanced effects can be explained by changes in children’s responses towards experienced violence, in parental availability, and in quality of parent-child interaction. To address this secondary aim, the main parameters are observational and questionnaire measures of parental availability, parent-child relationship variables, children’s adjustment problems and children’s responses to interparental violence. Data are collected three times: before and after the program and six months later. Both intention-to-treat and completer analyses will be done.DiscussionThe current study will enhance our understanding of the efficacy interparental violence-related parental components added to trauma focused cognitive behavioral group program for children who have been exposed to IPV. It will illuminate mechanisms underlying change by considering multiple dimensions of child responses, parenting variables and identify selection criteria for participation in treatment.Trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register NTR4015. Registered 4th of June, 2013.