Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Children’s Physiological Functioning: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Mitigating the impact of intimate partner violence in pregnancy and early childhood: A dyadic approach to psychotherapy

“…Infants exposed to IPV are more likely to display irritable behavior (e.g., screaming, crying), lose already acquired developmental milestones like speech, and show physiological hyperarousal (Mueller & Tronick, 2020). Physiological dysregulation continues after infancy; a recent review of studies examining the physiological functioning of children exposed to IPV found that children under five had higher levels of daily salivary cortisol output, a gold standard measure of stress, and greater cortisol reactivity in response to a challenging laboratory-based task (Berg et al, 2022). In addition to these physiological stress responses, several studies show links between IPV exposure in early childhood and executive functioning in later childhood (Lund et al, 2020).…”

The role of family and peer factors in the development of early adolescent depressive symptoms: A latent class growth analysis

“…Some researchers have summarized the family factors that increase the risk of adolescent depression as follows: long-term family stress, negative parenting behaviors, low-level family support and attachment, neglect, and parents’ marital conflict ( 32 ). Conflicts in the family environment can disrupt the core sense of security requisite for children’s adaptive coping responses to stress so that increases the risk of depression ( 33 , 34 ). It is believed that exposing children to violence between parents is a form of psychological abuse ( 35 ).…”

Does time heal all wounds? How is children’s exposure to intimate partner violence related to their current internalizing symptoms?

“…In order to obtain a more comprehensive view of the way children respond to exposure to IPV, it seems necessary to include in the analyses not only the cumulative value of past trauma and the passage of time itself ( Bonanno, 2004 ; De La Vega et al, 2013 ; Castro et al, 2017 ; Berg et al, 2022 ), but also variables related to the context in which children develop once their mothers have separated from the aggressor that could affect children´ adjustment over time ( Miller et al, 2012 ). In this regard, recent findings have emphasized that, in a manner similar to what the mothers have experienced, children’s exposure to IPV would take on different forms, resulting in continued experiences of revictimization (e.g., re-establishment of the mother-aggressor relationship and exposure to new violence events or exposure to multiple violent events at the hands of more than one partner against their mother) and stress sustained after the end of the violent relationship (e.g., maternal pathology or emotional insecurity associated with the mother’s anxious anticipation of potential future aggressions) likely to influence the endurance of pathological levels of anxiety and depression over time ( Baird et al, 2021 ; D’Amore et al, 2021 ; Henze-Pedersen, 2022 ).…”

“…In this study, we draw on the conclusions reached in previous literature with the aim of identifying factors associated with the internalizing adjustment of children following exposure to IPV. We take variables pertaining to different levels of analysis, including not only the cumulative value of past trauma ( De La Vega et al, 2013 ; Castro et al, 2017 ; Berg et al, 2022 ) but also other relational variables that could condition the mother–child relationship and the appropriate emotional support that the child would need after being exposed to IPV (e.g., experiences of revictimization, maternal pathology, and emotional security; Holmes, 2013 ; Jouriles et al, 2018 ; Silva et al, 2021 ). In the context of evaluating these research questions, we considered possible demographic covariates on children’s adjustment ( D’Andrea and Graham-Berman, 2017 ; World Health Organization, 2018 ).…”