Intimate Partner Violence and Children's Attachment Representations during Middle Childhood

Abstract

Despite long-standing hypotheses that intimate partner violence (IPV) may undermine children's ability to form secure attachment representations, few studies have empirically investigated this association. Particularly lacking is research that examines IPV and attachment during middle childhood, a time when the way that children understand, represent, and process the behavior of others becomes particularly important. Using data from a sample of African American children living in rural, low-income communities (n = 98), the current study sought to address this gap by examining the association between physical IPV occurring early in children's lives and their attachment security during the first grade. Results indicate that, even after controlling for child- and family-level covariates, physical IPV was associated with a greater likelihood of being rated insecurely attached. This effect was above and beyond the influence of maternal parenting behaviors, demonstrating a unique effect of physical IPV on children's attachment representations during middle childhood.

Keywords: Attachment; Domestic Violence; Intimate Partner Violence; Manchester Child Attachment Story Task; Middle Childhood; Parenting.

Figure 1. Final Model Relating Intimate Partner Violence, Maternal Parenting Behaviors, and Child Attachment Security

Note: χ²(30, N = 98) = 36.78, p=.18, CFI = .94, TLI = .91, RMSEA = 0.04. CTS = Physical violence subscale of the Conflict Tactics Scale, MCAST = Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (defined as 0 = Secure, 1 = Insecure), PCX = parent-child interaction, m = month. **p < .01, *p < .05. All presented parameter estimates are standardized. Grey dashed lines indicate paths that were estimated but were not statistically significant in the final model.