Past studies have indicated that mothers who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) have a greater risk of developing depression symptoms. Furthermore, existing literature provides evidence that children’s mental health can be affected by their mother’s mental health well past infancy and early childhood. Given this, children of IPV victims are particularly at risk of developing depression symptoms. Guided by trauma theory, the ecobiodevelopmental (EBD) framework, and social learning theory, this study investigates the long-term relationship between maternal IPV victimization during pregnancy and teen depression symptoms. This study utilizes longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the relationship between IPV during pregnancy and maternal depression symptoms at early childhood, as well as the mechanism by which maternal depression symptoms affect child depression symptoms in the adolescent stage of development. The findings indicate that mothers who were victims of IPV during pregnancy were more likely to have depression symptoms when children turned 3 and that maternal depression symptoms could directly predict children’s depression symptoms at age 15. Meanwhile, maternal depression symptoms could indirectly increase adolescent depression symptoms via physical punishment at age 5 and bullying victimization at age 9. While extensive evidence has shown that IPV during pregnancy has detrimental effects on mothers and children, our study adds to the literature that such detriments can last as long as a decade. Given that depression symptoms can be detrimental to later development, the findings call for universal and comprehensive IPV screening tools and swift service referrals for pregnant women who are experiencing IPV. At the same time, trauma-informed parenting education for women, along with school- and community-based interventions for children, may also mitigate these harmful associations.
While emotional and behaviorial problems increase risks to youth development, resilience helps youth adapt and overcome adversity. Research has discussed factors related to youth resilience, emotional problems, and behaviorial problems; however, existing literature excludes non‐western sociocultural contexts and has not explored the potential relations among mindfulness and life skills. This study examines the effects of mindfulness and life skills on resilience, emotional problems, and behaviorial problems of adolescents in China. Our data come from a group‐administered survey among 60 adolescents from a school for behaviourally delinquent students in Beijing, China, in 2017. The regression results indicate that mindfulness is associated with reduced adolescent emotional and behaviorial problems, whereas life skills are associated with increased resilience. The findings suggest the importance of adolescent interventions that incorporate concepts from both mindfulness and life skills training.
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