Intimate partner violence indirectly dysregulates child diurnal adrenocortical functioning through positive parenting

Abstract

Data were drawn from an ongoing study of preschoolers (N = 221). Mothers self‐reported experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and parenting practices, and collected three saliva samples (waking, midday, and bedtime) on themselves and their child on 2 consecutive days. Saliva samples were later assayed for cortisol. Bootstrapped mediation analyses revealed IPV to indirectly impact child diurnal cortisol through positive parenting. Specifically, greater exposure to IPV was associated with reduced positive parenting and subsequently heightened child waking cortisol levels. IPV did not indirectly impact child diurnal cortisol via autonomy supporting parenting or maternal diurnal cortisol. These findings suggest a possible pathway by which mother's experience of IPV indirectly influences child physiological regulation via maternal positive parenting.

Longitudinal effects of maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and Reminiscing and Emotion Training on children's diurnal cortisol regulation

“…Second, we expected that receiving the RET intervention would be associated with increases in overall levels of cortisol and changes toward a steeper diurnal decline 1 year later (controlling for maltreatment and IPV), whereas we expected that maltreatment would be related to continued reductions in cortisol levels and increasingly blunted cortisol slopes over time (controlling for intervention effects and IPV). With regard to IPV, previous analysis of these data at baseline found higher morning cortisol in relation to IPV (Hibel, Nuttall, & Valentino, 2019); building off this work, we expected this association to persist into the 1-year follow-up. Furthermore, because randomized clinical trials provide a unique opportunity to test mechanisms of development that underlie intervention outcomes among maltreating families (Cicchetti & Gunnar, 2008), we tested elaborative reminiscing as the mechanism of change.…”

HPA-axis activity and the moderating effect of self-esteem in the context of intimate partner violence in Cameroon

“…This is in accordance with the conclusion of Boeckel et al ( 2017 ), who assessed hair cortisol and proved the absence of an association between cortisol levels in mothers and those of their children in Southern Brazil. Perhaps other factors may mediate the relationship between mothers’ and children’s AUCg, including parenting style or practices (Hibel et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Future studies could address social support and the extent to which it can moderate the effect of IPV on AUCg. Third, we did not measure the quality of the mother–child relationship or parental style, which, according to Hibel et al ( 2020 ), can influence the effect of IPV on HPA-axis activity. Fourth, we only controlled for the compliance of the participant for the first time point.…”

“…Accordingly, to contribute to new knowledge about the HPA-axis activity of mother-child exposed to IPV, this study examines two groups, one exposed to IPV and one not exposed to IPV as a control, and aims to (1) compare cortisol levels in mothers and children of both groups; (2) test the relationship between IPV and cortisol levels in the mother-child dyads with respect to the protective factors, particularly self-esteem and sense of coherence; (3) test whether mothers' self-esteem and sense of coherence moderates the effect of IPV on total cortisol output as indicated by measures of AUCg; and (4) investigate whether mothers' AUCg predicts their children's AUCg differently in each group. Based on our recent finding showing symptoms of psychopathology, including anxiety and depression, in mothers exposed to IPV and externalized symptoms in their children (Wadji, Ketcha Wanda, Wicky, Morina, & Martin-Soelch, 2020) and on previous findings (Boeckel et al, 2017;Hibel et al, 2020), we expect 1) hyperactivity of the HPA axis, as indicated by higher cortisol levels, in the IPV-exposed mother-child dyads compared to the control group, (2) IPV to correlate positively and protective factors negatively with cortisol levels, (3) self-esteem and sense of coherence to moderate the effect of IPV on AUCg, and (4) mothers' AUCg to predict their children's AUCg.…”

“…To our knowledge, only two studies have explored the effect of IPV on the stress response of mother–child dyads through cortisol measures. Hibel, Nuttall, and Valentino ( 2020 ) investigated diurnal salivary cortisol in 221 mother–child dyads in the United States. Their results indicate that exposure to IPV was associated with heightened child waking cortisol (used as a synonym for CAR), with positive parenting as a mediator.…”