This study investigated the socialization of children's emotion regulation in physically maltreating and non-maltreating mother-child dyads (N = 80 dyads). Mother-child dyads participated in the parent-child emotion interaction task (Shipman & Zeman, 1999) in which they talked about emotionally-arousing situations. The PCEIT was coded for maternal validation and invalidation in response to children's emotion. Mothers were also interviewed about their approach to emotion socialization using the meta-emotion interview-parent version (Katz & Gottman, 1999). The meta-emotion interview-parent version was coded for maternal emotion coaching. Mothers also completed measures that assessed their child abuse potential and abuse-related behaviors as well as children's emotion regulation. Findings indicated that maltreated children demonstrated fewer adaptive emotion regulation skills and more emotion dysregulation than non-maltreated children. In addition, maltreating mothers engaged in less validation and emotion coaching and more invalidation in response to children's emotion than non-maltreating mothers. Finally, maternal emotion socialization behaviors mediated the relation between maltreatment status and children's adaptive emotion regulation skills.

The authors examined longitudinally the mental health status of women as a function of different types and combinations of exposure to interpersonal violence. A structured telephone interview was administered to a household probability sample of 4,008 women (18-89 years of age), who were then recontacted for 1- and 2-year follow-up interviews. Interviews assessed lifetime violence history (i.e., sexual assault, physical assault, witnessed serious injury or violent death), past-year mental health functioning (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression, and substance use problems), and new instances of violence occurring after the baseline interview. Results indicate that (a) lifetime violence exposure was associated with increased risk of PTSD, depression, and substance use problems; (b) odds of PTSD, depression, and substance use problems increased incrementally with the number of different types of violence experienced; (c) relations were fairly stable over a 2-year period; and (d) new incidents of violence between the baseline and follow-up interviews were associated with heightened risk of PTSD and substance use problems. Greater understanding of the cumulative impact of violence exposure will inform service provision for individuals at high risk.

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The current study examined the cumulative risk associated with children's exposure to multiple types of parent-inflicted victimization. The sample was comprised of 195 children who were 7 to 17 years old (64.1% female and 48.2% non-White) at the time of referral to the United States Navy's Family Advocacy Program due to allegations of sexual abuse, physical abuse, or parental intimate partner violence. We conducted an exploratory latent class analysis to identify distinct subgroups of children based on lifetime victimization. We hypothesized that at least 2 classes or subgroups would be identified, with 1 characterized by greater victimization and poorer outcomes. Results indicated that 3 classes of children best fit the data: (a) high victimization across all 3 categories, (b) high rates of physical abuse and witnessing intimate partner violence, and (c) high rates of physical abuse only. Findings indicated that the high victimization class was at greatest risk for alcohol and substance use, delinquent behavior, and meeting criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression 1 year later (odds ratio = 4.53). These findings highlight the serious mental health needs of a small but significantly high-risk portion of multiply victimized children entering the child welfare system.

Responding to calls for further research about the impact of multiple types of trauma across the life span, this study examines the interconnections among types of trauma in childhood and adulthood in a convenience clinical sample of 283 women obtaining social services for family violence. In particular, variables including family of-origin dysfunction and other childhood risk factors, relationship victimization in adulthood, and the presence of adult resources were examined as mediators of links between child maltreatment and adult mental health symptoms. Variables were assessed at different time points, 3 years apart. Path analysis revealed that the conceptual model of multiple pathways between childhood family violence exposure and adult outcomes fit the data well. In particular, the link between child maltreatment and adult trauma symptoms was mediated by more proximal adult sexual and intimate partner violence and its association with childhood risk markers (e.g., negative family environment) and decreased markers of resources. This link was not significant for a more general index of mental health symptoms in adulthood.

Characteristics of children's memory for a trauma and for a positive event were compared and relationships of memory characteristics to trauma symptoms examined in 30 children who experienced a traumatic event. Results revealed that memories for trauma tended to have less sensory detail and coherence, yet have more meaning and impact than did memories for positive experiences. Sexual traumas, offender relationship, and perceived life threat were associated with memory characteristics. Few relationships between memory characteristics and trauma symptoms were found. Therapist ratings of child memory characteristics were correlated with some child trauma memory characteristic reports. These results are consistent with other studies. Possible explanations include divided attention during the traumatic event and cognitive avoidance occurring after the event.

This article presents the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) Task Force report on the evidence-based service planning (EBSP) approach to child welfare services (CWS) plans and recommendations for practice. The focus of the policy report is on formal psychosocial services. CWS plans prescribe services to promote core child welfare objectives and to benefit children and families. The goal of EBSP is to construct service plans based on the general principles of evidence-based practice and prefer services with empirical support for clinical problems or needs associated with the causes or consequences of child abuse and neglect (CAN). EBSP aims to facilitate an overarching service approach that is collaborative, respectful, and includes services that are most likely to lead to outcomes on both family identified and child welfare mission goals. EBSP emphasizes a focused, assessment-driven, and science-informed approach that both favors plans that are sufficient and avoids overburdening families with compulsory services that address problems which are not directly related to the child welfare CAN referral.