Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Parenting Stress: Assessing the Mediating Role of Depressive Symptoms

Abstract

Guided by the spillover hypothesis and process model of parenting, this study examined relationships between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and parenting characteristics among a sample of 1,153 lower-income women. Hierarchical regression was used to investigate a mediational model examining women's self-reports of physical and psychological IPV, depressive symptoms, and parenting stress. Results suggest that depressive symptoms partially mediate the link between a mother's psychological IPV victimization and later self-reported parenting stress. Findings from this study highlight the importance of including maternal psychopathology and other stress and support variables when assessing parenting outcomes among women with histories of IPV.

The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Mothers’ Parenting Practices for Urban, Low-Income Adolescents

“…These findings provide further support for the notion that maternal IPV may exert its influence on parenting directly (Casanueva et al 2008;Levendosky et al 2006). In contrast to the current study, some previous studies have shown that associations between IPV and parenting were mediated by maternal mental health (Levendosky and Graham-Bermann 2001;Levendosky et al 2003;Renner 2009). …”

“…A large body of research has revealed the negative impacts of depression on parenting (Goodman examined the role of depression in explaining associations between IPV and parenting. In a sample of low-income women, Renner (2009) found that depression partially mediated the relationship between mothers' psychological IPV and self-reported parenting stress. Findings suggested that depression accounts for why psychological IPV renders these mothers less able to handle their parenting demands.…”

“…Depression may play a role in explaining how mothers' IPV experiences affect parenting behaviors and parent-child relationships (Renner 2009). Depression is one of the most common adverse health outcomes among women who have experienced IPV, and IPV may exacerbate chronic depression (Campbell 2002).…”

“…Two of the prior studies examining the mediating role of depression in the relationship between IPV and parenting included mothers of adolescents (Levendosky and GrahamBermann 2001;Renner 2009). However, findings specific to the parenting of the adolescents in these studies were not presented.…”

Habilidades maternas de mulheres vítimas de violência doméstica: uma revisão da literatura

“…Cabe destacar que, mesmo quando não foi encontrada uma correlação positiva entre a violência conjugal e os problemas de comportamento da criança (Zerk et al, 2009) Em relação às habilidades maternas, a maioria dos estudos analisados demonstrou impactos negativos da exposição à violência conjugal, com um aumento do estresse parental das mães (Renner, 2009) e de comportamentos agressivos por parte da mãe (Damant et al, 2010;Taylor et al, 2009;Kelleher et al, 2008), sendo que Letourneau, Fedick e Willms (2007) demonstraram que mães de crianças expostas à violência doméstica podem, de fato, compensar a exposição à violência dos filhos nas suas interações maternas, dando indicativos de que algumas mulheres conseguem superar sua experiência de vitimização e oferecer maternagem adequada aos filhos. Cabe destacar, contudo, que, dentre os estudos que verificaram os impactos da violência conjugal nas habilidades maternas, apenas alguns utilizaram gruposcontrole (Duggan et al, 2009;Jouriles et al, 2009 …”