Relations Among Intimate Partner Violence, Maternal Depressive Symptoms, and Maternal Parenting Behaviors

Abstract

The authors examined the relations among intimate partner violence (IPV), maternal depressive symptoms, and maternal harsh intrusive parenting. Using a cross-lagged, autoregressive path model, they sought to clarify the directionality of the relations among these 3 variables over the first 2 years of the child's life. The results indicated that, in this diverse sample of families living in predominantly low-income rural communities (N = 705), higher levels of early IPV were associated with increases in maternal depressive symptoms, which in turn were associated with increases in maternal harsh intrusive parenting behaviors. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at improving the parenting of women exposed to domestic violence may want to simultaneously target IPV and depressive symptomatology.

Keywords: depression; intimate partner violence; parenting.

Figure 1

Visual Depiction of the Conceptual Model. Note: The boldface arrows indicate that we hypothesized that these paths would be significant, whereas the non-boldface arrows indicate paths that were estimated but were not hypothesized to be significant. Double-headed arrows indicate correlations that were estimated between within-time variables. m = month; CTS = Conflict Tactics Scale – Couple Form R; BSI = Brief Symptom Inventory.

Figure 2

Final Model Relating Intimate Partner Physical Violence, Maternal Depressive Symptoms, and Maternal Harsh Intrusive Parenting. Note: χ²(33, N = 705) = 85.76, p = .00, comparative fit index (CFI) = .95, Tucker – Lewis Index (TLI) = .90, root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .04. CTS Physical Violence = Physical Violence subscale of the Conflict Tactics Scale – Couple Form R; BSI Depressive Symptoms = Depression Subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory; Harsh intrusive Parenting = harsh intrusive composite score from the parent – child interaction; m = month. All paths depicted are standardized and significant. When this model was rerun with paternal CTS Violence scores instead, all depicted paths remained significant and similar in magnitude, χ ²(28, N = 223) = 36.75, p = .00, CFI = .98, TLI = .95, RMSEA = .04. *p < .05. **p < .01.