Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy: Effects of Maternal Depression Symptoms and Parenting on Teen Depression Symptoms

Abstract

Past studies have indicated that mothers who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) have a greater risk of developing depression symptoms. Furthermore, existing literature provides evidence that children’s mental health can be affected by their mother’s mental health well past infancy and early childhood. Given this, children of IPV victims are particularly at risk of developing depression symptoms. Guided by trauma theory, the ecobiodevelopmental (EBD) framework, and social learning theory, this study investigates the long-term relationship between maternal IPV victimization during pregnancy and teen depression symptoms. This study utilizes longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the relationship between IPV during pregnancy and maternal depression symptoms at early childhood, as well as the mechanism by which maternal depression symptoms affect child depression symptoms in the adolescent stage of development. The findings indicate that mothers who were victims of IPV during pregnancy were more likely to have depression symptoms when children turned 3 and that maternal depression symptoms could directly predict children’s depression symptoms at age 15. Meanwhile, maternal depression symptoms could indirectly increase adolescent depression symptoms via physical punishment at age 5 and bullying victimization at age 9. While extensive evidence has shown that IPV during pregnancy has detrimental effects on mothers and children, our study adds to the literature that such detriments can last as long as a decade. Given that depression symptoms can be detrimental to later development, the findings call for universal and comprehensive IPV screening tools and swift service referrals for pregnant women who are experiencing IPV. At the same time, trauma-informed parenting education for women, along with school- and community-based interventions for children, may also mitigate these harmful associations.

Keywords

intimate partner violence during pregnancy physical punishment peer bullying victimization depression symptoms adolescence

Introduction

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent in our society and disproportionately affects women. Over one in four women (25.1%, or 30 million women), as opposed to one in ten men (10.9%, or 12.1 million men), experience contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking at the hands of an intimate partner during their lifetime and report some forms of outcomes related to IPV experience (Smith et al., 2018). A study conducted in England found that 17% of approximately 500 pregnant women reported having experienced domestic violence (being physically or emotionally hurt) in the past, with 3.4% reporting having experienced physical violence during their pregnancy (Johnson et al., 2003). Mothers who experience some form of interpersonal trauma, including IPV, are more likely to experience severe depression (Fowler et al., 2013). Huang et al. (2010), through analysis of a large longitudinal dataset, found that mothers’ reports of IPV around the time of their child’s birth was strongly associated with their reports of depression symptoms three years later. Past papers have documented how IPV can affect women and their children in the long run (Huang et al., 2010; Nicholson et al., 2018; Figge et al., 2021; Fusco, 2017).

Maternal depression has been found to have deleterious effects on children’s developmental outcomes, including physical effects such as lower birth weight, delayed growth, and feeding problems (Orr & Miller, 1995; Rahman et al., 2004) and psychological effects such as greater negative affect, greater depression symptoms, less cooperation, and poorer cognitive and language skills (Côté et al., 2018; Kluczniok et al., 2016; Marcus, 2009). Much of the existing literature on teen depression and depression symptoms have shown supporting evidence for the fact that depression among adolescents is associated with a broad range of negative outcomes, both during adolescence as well as in adulthood (Johnson et al., 2018; Keenan-Miller et al., 2007; Naicker et al., 2013). Jaycox et al. (2009) found that depressed teens experienced significant impairments across various domains of functioning, including academic, social, and physical. Given that mothers who have experienced IPV are more prone to developing depression symptoms, and that maternal depression is associated with depression symptoms among both children and teens, the risk that IPV during pregnancy poses for mothers’ well-being also poses risks to child and adolescent well-being. This calls for a need to further understand how maternal depression increases risk of adolescent mental health problems, possibly leading to ways to mitigate the transgenerational transmission of maternal depression onto children, especially those born to mothers with IPV experiences. Thus, this article aims to examine the pathway by which maternal IPV experiences during pregnancy affect adolescent mental health.

Background

IPV and Depression

A systematic review of 37 studies from between 2000 and 2010 found that there was a 1.5- to 2-fold increase in the risk of elevated depressive symptoms among women who were exposed to IPV relative to those who were not exposed, though only five of the studies in the analysis were cohort studies (Beydoun et al., 2012). McMahon et al. (2011), analyzing longitudinal data collected from almost 4,000 mothers, found that those who had experienced emotional or physical victimization were more likely to experience depression symptoms. Results of logistic regression indicated that the odds of depression increased by 56% for mothers who reported physical victimization when compared to those who did not report physical victimization. In a similar vein, those who reported emotional victimization had 34% increased odds of depression, relative to mothers who reported no emotional victimization. This study’s strengths, including a large dataset and the use of longitudinal data, build upon previous literature that has connected IPV to depression by establishing temporal order between the two.

Maternal Depression and Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health

Maternal depression has been linked to internalizing (Côté et al., 2018; Kluczniok et al., 2016; van der Waerden et al., 2015) and externalizing (Huang et al., 2010; Luoma et al., 2001) problems in children and adolescents. Van der Waerden et al. (2015) examined 1,183 mother–child pairs from pregnancy to the child’s fifth birthday and found that maternal depression symptoms, measured at pregnancy, Year 3, and Year 5, are related to children’s emotional and behavioral problems when children were 5 years old. Similarly, a study by Huang and colleagues (2010) found that the presence of maternal depression symptoms during child infancy had a strong positive effect on internalizing and externalizing behaviors when children were 5 years old. In addition to these effects, mothers with persistent depressive symptoms also had children with peer problems, a result that may be attributed to child behavioral issues such as low levels of prosocial behavior (van der Waerden et al., 2015). Behavioral problems in childhood raise concerns for later mental health issues, as well as disrupted social relationships. For example, Padilla-Walker et al. (2015) found that internalizing behaviors negatively predicted later prosocial behavior, compromising children’s ability to develop healthy peer relationships and to interact with family warmly. In addition to increased prevalence of behavioral issues, exposure to maternal depression during early childhood is associated with higher levels of adolescent depression symptoms (Côté et al., 2018). In this study, data from a population-based sample of approximately 1,400 children from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development were used to assess the long-term effects of maternal depression on adolescent mental health. Maternal depression, self-reported during the first five years of the focal child’s life, was associated with higher levels of child depression at aged 15. Maternal depression had positive associations with depression symptoms for both boys and girls. The results of this study are indicative of how far the effects of maternal depression can ripple out into the life course development of children, however the data are specific to a single province in Canada, demanding that more studies be done to further validate the results for datasets that are more representative of the general population.

Exploring Mediators of the Relationship Between Maternal and Adolescent Depression

Literature has indicated physical health and social relationships as mediators of the relationship between maternal and adolescent depression (Côté et al., 2018; Hammen et al., 2012; Raposa et al., 2014). In one study, maternal depression appeared to be related to youth-reported depression through poor physical health in early childhood and lower social functioning later on (Raposa et al., 2014). Interpersonal stress, such as stress in peer and romantic relationships, has been indicated as a positive mediator of the relationship between maternal and adolescent depression (Hammen et al., 2012). Côté et al. (2018) found that the effects of early childhood exposure to maternal depression on adolescent depression symptoms were fully positively mediated by peer victimization during middle childhood. Overall, the different mediators suggested by existing literature indicate that maternal depression may have some effect on children’s ability to independently regulate their behaviors and emotions due to the modeling that they have observed from their mothers, physical health barriers, lack of the ability to build peer support networks, and more. This is indicative of the need for more research on how all these aforementioned factors interact with one another to influence the increased risk of adolescent depression symptoms among those who are born to mothers with IPV experiences. Such an endeavor could yield valuable information that helps devise preventive measures to reduce the chances of adolescents experiencing depression symptoms following mothers’ IPV exposure. Currently, there are limited interventions that are specifically designed to support women experiencing prenatal IPV, and among those that exist, few programs explicitly address the intergenerational effects of violence (Howell et al., 2017). We attempt to expand upon existing knowledge on the intergenerational transmission of IPV harms to guide future interventions that seek to consider both parent and child outcomes. Thus, in this article, we examine the psychosocial mechanism by which maternal depression, specifically among mothers who have experienced IPV during their pregnancy, affects the level of depression symptoms experienced by adolescents.

Theoretical Basis and Hypothesis

The theoretical framework for this article rests on trauma theory (Herman, 1992), the ecobiodevelopmental (EBD) framework (Shonkoff et al., 2012), and social learning theory (Bandura, 1978) to inform our hypothesis: physical and emotional victimization is associated with higher rates of maternal depression and the effects of maternal depression on depression symptoms in adolescents are mediated by the experiences of physical punishment and bullying victimization in childhood. Trauma theory (Herman, 1992) posits that an individual surrounded by disrupted and unstable relationships must find some way to form a capacity for intimacy with the person or people who are meant to be safest for them. To do so, the individual may adopt negative self-appraisals, rejecting the conclusion that the person or people who have harmed them are “bad.” This internalization of “innate badness” then becomes the cause of environmental discord, and the image and integrity of the perpetrator remains intact, preserved. Findings that show the connection between IPV and depression in survivors (Beydoun et al., 2012; McMahon et al., 2011) is consistent with this theory. This theory also serves to support the prediction that depression symptoms, including negative self-appraisal, in adolescents may be higher due to bullying victimization and physical punishment by their mothers. Such internal beliefs would allow adolescents to reconcile perceived inconsistencies between the expectations of nurturing caretakers and peer support and their reality.

We use EBD (Shonkoff et al., 2012) to inform our prediction for the path between maternal depression and adolescent depression. Shonkoff and colleagues (2012) found that because they are still in early developmental stages, children are particularly sensitive to stress. Unpredictable stress activates a survival response by altering neurophysiology, but the effects can be countered by nurturing caregiver responses as comfort from a caregiver promotes neural development. When child distress is not responded with warmth and comfort, children experience dysregulation of stress hormones, predisposing them to impairments in physical and mental well-being. A common control tactic of abusive partners is to undermine their victims’ ability to function as reliable caregivers, which, in turn, fractures parent–child relationships between survivors and their children (Beeble et al., 2007). In a study by Zeanah et al. (1999), over half of the infants to mothers who were IPV survivors had insecure attachment, and of these, over 90% had disorganized attachment. Disrupted attachment predisposes children to view themselves with poor regard, leading to health and behavioral problems that can prevent the development of positive peer relationships (Fong et al., 2017). Without healthy relationships, children become more likely to be victimized and less able to use social supports to mitigate the consequences of victimization. Secure attachment, by contrast, strengthens children’s emotion regulation and social skills (Dwyer et al., 2010; Sroufe, 2005). Using EBD, we propose that children who are born to victims of IPV will experience adolescent depression symptoms due to the peer victimization that likely follows aggressive parenting styles during early childhood. We conceptualize the use of physical punishment to discipline children as one such aggressive parenting technique.

Finally, the third theory that we base our hypothesis on is social learning theory, which posits that behaviors are learned socially through observation modeling and imitation (Bandura, 1978). While Bandura’s (1978) original theory discusses the learned behavior of aggression specifically, we focus on social learning theory in the context of victimization and depression. Specifically, we hypothesize that children of mothers with depression learn to mimic the trajectory of their mother and in turn have increased depression symptoms in their adolescence. In its totality, our hypothesis proposes that prenatal emotional and physical victimization of a mother is directly related to maternal depression symptoms during the child’s infancy, which will both directly and indirectly increase adolescent depression symptoms. We propose the following pathway between maternal depression symptoms and adolescent depression symptoms: maternal depression symptoms positively affect the parenting practice of physical punishment, which increases child peer victimization, which increases teen depression symptoms.

Methods

Data and Sample

The data of this study came from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national longitudinal study designed to provide comprehensive information about unmarried parents (approximately 75% of the sample) and their children’s well-being. The data were collected from 20 US cities with population over 200,000, via a three-stage stratified random sampling method. The baseline data were collected between 1998 and 2000 and contained information about 4,898 mothers (Reichman et al., 2001). Follow-up surveys were conducted when children were 1, 3, 5, 9 and 15 years old (see Reichman et al., 2001 for a detailed study design). This study used data from baseline, Year 3, 5, 9, and 15.

Among the 4,894 eligible mothers at baseline, 4,231 were interviewed at Year 3; 4,139 at Year 5; and 3,515 at Year 9. At Year 15, 3,580 primary caregivers completed the survey. Focal children were interviewed starting in Year 9. This article examines adolescent depression symptoms as the outcome, therefore data reported by adolescents at Year 15 were used. Out of 4,898 cases, 3,444 adolescents were interviewed at Year 15.

Taking advantage of a longitudinal design, the current study takes account of the temporal sequence of the variables of interests. We considered mothers’ physical and emotional IPV experience at baseline as the independent variables and used adolescents’ self-reported depression symptoms at Year 15 as the dependent variable. Maternal depression symptoms at Year 3, physical punishment toward children at Year 5, and focal children’s peer bullying victimization at Year 9 were treated as mediators. Out of 3,444 interviewed adolescents at Year 15, 60 adolescents had missing values on the questions relative to depression symptoms. The inclusion criterion for this study was to have complete information on all variables of interest. After constructing all variables, the final analytic sample was 2,065.

Measures

Adolescent depression symptoms (Year 15) were measured by five items from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Perreira et al. (2005) found good psychometric properties of the five-item version by using the first wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Focal children were asked to self-report their feelings in the past week through the items on a scale of 0 (strongly disagree) to 3 (strongly agree): “I feel I cannot shake off the blues, even with help from my family and my friends;” “I feel sad;” “I feel happy;” “I feel life is not worth living;” and “I feel depressed .” We reversed the scores of items 1, 2, 4, and 5, and summed up the scores of all items, with higher scores presenting greater levels of depression symptoms. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.74.

Intimate partner violence during pregnancy (baseline) was measured in two dimensions: mothers’ physical victimization and emotional victimization in the past month. Physical victimization was measured by the item “He hits you or slaps you when he is angry” and emotional victimization was measured by “He insults or criticizes you or your ideas”. Mothers were asked to answer the questions from three possible responses: “never”, “sometimes”, and “often”. For mothers who were not romantically involved with children’s fathers were asked to answer the questions based on the past relationship. We combined “sometimes” and “often” into a “yes” category for both physical and emotional victimization due to the small portion of mothers’ report on the latter response. Therefore, if participants reported that they experienced physical aggression either sometimes or often at baseline, they were coded as “yes”. The same coding strategy was applied to emotional victimization.

Maternal depression symptoms (Year 3) was measured by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview—Short Form (CIDI-SF; Kessler et al., 1998). Mothers evaluated their experiences of feeling sad, blue, or depressed based on seven questions in the past two weeks, including losing interest in more things; feeling more tired out or low on energy; gaining or losing weight without trying; having trouble falling asleep and concentrating than usual; feeling down or worthless; and thinking a lot about death. Mothers were scored “1” when reporting “yes” in response to each item. By adding up the scores, the final score of maternal depression symptoms ranged from 0 to 7, with a higher score representing a higher number of depression symptoms.

Physical punishment (Year 5) was measured by mothers’ self-report on the following five parenting behaviors: Have you “spanked him/her on the bottom with your bare hand;” “hit him/her on the bottom with something like a belt, hairbrush, a stick or some other hard object;” “slapped him/her on the hand, arm, or leg;” “pinched him/ her;” and “shook him/her.” Mothers self-reported the frequency of engaging in the activities in the past year on a scale from 0 to 7 (0 = never happened, 1 = once, 2 = twice, 3 = 3–5 times, 4 = 6–10 times, 5 = 11–20 times, 6 = more than 20 times, and 7 = yes, but not in the past year). We recoded category 3, 4, 5 to the midpoint; category 6 to 25; and category 7 to 0. We constructed the physical punishment variable by summing up answers to all five items, with higher scores representing greater frequency of physical punishment toward children.

Bullying victimization (Year 9) was measured using four items adopted from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Child Development Supplement III (PSID-CDS-III), including the frequency at which peers have “picked on you or said mean things to you;” “hit you;” “taken your things, like your money or lunch, without asking;” and “purposely left you out of activities.” Children were asked to self-report the frequency of their bullying experience(s) from peers at school or in their neighborhood in the past month from 0 (not once in past month) to 4 (every day). The average score of the four items was used to indicate bullying victimization, with 0 representing lowest bullying victimization and 4 representing highest bullying victimization.

Analytic Strategies

Figure 1 presents the hypothetical model of the current study. We hypothesize that mothers’ physical and emotional IPV experience during pregnancy (baseline) predicts their depression symptoms at Year 3, which directly affects adolescents’ depression symptoms at Year 15. In addition, we also hypothesize that maternal depression symptoms at Year 3 indirectly leads to adolescents’ depression symptoms through physical punishment at Year 5 and peer bullying victimization at Year 9.

Figure 1.

Path diagram of hypothesized model.

First, descriptive and Pearson’s correlation analyses were undertaken to observe the sample characteristics and the correlations among all variables. Then, we conducted Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis to examine the effects of IPV victimization at baseline on maternal depression symptoms, physical punishment, peer bullying victimization, and adolescents’ depression symptoms, following a temporal sequence. SEM, differing from regression techniques, allows simultaneous examination of direct and indirect effects through mediating variables. Three commonly used goodness-of-fit indices were used to evaluate model fit, including chi-square test, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and the comparative fit index (CFI). We follow conventional criteria to set cutoff points for the fit indices, chi-square > .05, RMSEA < .06, and CFI > .95, indicating adequate model fit (Hu, & Bentler, 1999). STATA software 16.0 was used for all analysis.

Results

Descriptive and Correlation Statistics

The results of descriptive and Pearson’s correlation analyses are shown in Table 1. Among the 2,065 mothers, 5% and 30%, respectively, reported physical and emotional victimization at baseline. At Year 3, the average score of maternal depression symptoms was 0.77, on a scale of 0–7, with a standard deviation of 1.87. The average frequency of physical punishment at Year 5 was 12.80, ranging from 0 to 100, with a standard deviation of 16.12. At Year 9, the average level of children’s bullying victimization was 0.63 on a scale of 0–4, with a standard deviation of 0.78. Adolescents reported an average level of 3.26 on their depression symptoms at Year 15, with a standard deviation of 3.39 and a range of 0-19.

Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics and Correlations of Main Variables.

Variables	Mean (S.D.)	1	2	3	4	5	6
1. Physical victimization, baseline [%]	0.05	–
2. Emotional victimization, baseline [%]	0.30	0.15***	–
3. Maternal depression symptom, Year 3	0.77(1.87)	0.10***	0.07**	–
4. Physical punishment, Year 5	12.81 (16.12)	0.02	0.06**	0.08***	–
5. Bullying victimization, Year 9	0.63 (0.78)	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.08***	–
6. Adolescent depression symptom, Year 15	3.27 (3.39)	0.03	0.03	0.06**	0.04	0.15***	–

Note. N = 2,065. Standard deviation appears in parentheses.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

As indicated by the results of Pearson’s correlation analyses, adolescent depression symptoms at Year 15 were significantly correlated with bullying victimization at Year 9 (r = 0.15, p < .001) and maternal depression symptoms at Year 3 (r = 0.06, p < .01). Bullying victimization at Year 9 had positive correlations with physical punishment at Year 5 (r = 0.08, p < .001). Physical punishment toward children at Year 5 was correlated with maternal depression at Year 3 (r = 0.08, p < .001) and emotional victimization at baseline (r = 0.06, p <.01). Maternal depression at Year 3 was positively correlated with both physical (r = 0.10, p <.001) and emotional (r = 0.07, p <.01) victimization at baseline. Finally, physical and emotional victimizations at baseline were correlated with each other (r = 0.15, p < .001). The findings of the correlation analyses were consistent with the hypothesized model (Figure 1).

Structural Equation Modeling Results

SEM was used to test our hypothesized model. The goodness-of-fit indices indicate that the model adequately fits the data (χ²(8) = 10.39, p = .24, RMSEA = 0.01, CFI = 0.98). Figure 2 presents the standardized coefficients of the model. In line with our hypothesis, physical victimization (β = 0.05, p < .001) and emotional victimization (β = 0.05, p < .05) at baseline directly increased maternal depression symptoms at Year 3. Likewise, maternal depression symptoms directly led to higher levels of adolescent depression symptoms at Year 15 (β = 0.06, p < .01). In addition, physical punishment at Year 5 and bullying victimization at Year 9 partially mediated the effect of maternal depression symptoms on adolescents’ depression symptoms. Specifically, maternal depression symptoms at Year 3 directly led to higher frequencies of physical punishment at Year 5 (β = 0.08, p < .01), which subsequently increased children’s bullying victimization at Year 9 (β = 0.08, p <.01). Finally, bullying victimization predicted adolescents’ higher levels of depression symptoms at Year 15 (β = 0.15, p < .001). Table 2 shows the decomposition of the standardized effects on depression symptoms at Year 15. The indirect effects of physical victimization on physical punishment, bullying victimization, and adolescents’ depression symptoms were all significant. Meanwhile, maternal depression symptoms had indirect effects on bullying victimization, and physical punishment affected adolescents’ depression symptoms indirectly.

Figure 2.

Note. N = 2,065, χ2(8) = 10.39, p = .24, RMSEA = 0.01, CFI = 0.98.

Table 2.

Decomposition of the Standardized Effects on Depression Symptoms at Year 15.

Predictors	Dependent Variable	Direct Effect	Indirect Effect	Total Effect
Physical victimization	Maternal depression symptoms	0.09***		0.09***
	Physical punishment		0.01**	0.01**
	Bullying victimization		0.01*	0.001*
	Adolescent depression symptom		0.01*	0.01*
Emotional victimization	Maternal depression symptoms	0.05*		0.05*
	Physical punishment		0.004+	0.004+
	Bullying victimization		0.0003+	0.0003+
	Adolescent depression symptom		0.003+	0.003+
Maternal depression symptom	Physical punishment	0.08**		0.08**
	Bullying victimization		0.01*	0.01*
	Adolescent depression symptom	0.06**	0.001*	0.06**
Physical punishment	Bullying victimization	0.08**		0.08**
	Adolescent depression symptom		0.01**	0.01**
Bullying victimization	Adolescent depression symptom	0.15***		0.15***

Note. N = 2,065.

⁺p < .10. ^*p < .05. ^**p < .01. ^***p < .001.

The SEM results indicate that mothers’ physical and emotional IPV experiences at baseline had indirect effects on children’s later depression symptoms (Year 15) via maternal depression symptoms (Year 3), physical punishment toward children (Year 5), and bullying victimization (Year 9). In addition to the indirect paths through physical punishment and bullying victimization, maternal depression symptoms at Year 3 also conferred direct effect on children’s later depression symptoms at Year 15.

Discussion and Conclusion

Our study aimed to assess the relationships between IPV victimization, maternal depression symptoms, and adolescent depression symptoms. We also examined the pathway by which maternal depression symptoms among IPV victims affected adolescent depression symptoms. Our hypotheses relied upon trauma theory, EBD, and social learning theory to predict that maternal depression symptoms during the focal child’s early childhood would positively affect physical punishment, which would in turn predict more bullying victimization. Subsequently, bullying victimization would increase depression symptoms experienced by the child during adolescence. The results from SEM analyses are in line with our hypotheses: mothers’ IPV experience during pregnancy indirectly predicted children’s depression symptoms in adolescence through maternal depression symptoms, physical punishment, and children’s peer bullying victimization. Meanwhile, maternal depression symptoms also had their own direct and positive effect toward children’s later depression symptoms.

While extensive evidence has shown that IPV during pregnancy has detrimental effects on mothers and children, our study adds to the literature that such detriments can last as long as a decade. By hurting mothers’ mental health and affecting their parenting behaviors, the adversity of IPV victimization can expand to children’s experiences with peers and, ultimately, their mental health in adolescence. As indicated by the findings, it is necessary and urgent to incorporate universal and comprehensive IPV screening for pregnant women into the healthcare agenda (Bailey, 2010; Sharps et al., 2007). O’Reilly et al.’s (2010) systematic review indicated that regular and repeated screening of IPV during pregnancy could help to identify the issue, reduce the amount of violence experienced by the victims, and provide interventions to mitigate various consequences. However, the study also noted that evidence of identifying effective screening techniques and intervention strategies was still limited. Substantiation for the long-term effectiveness of interventions for pregnant women and children is needed. Effective screening requires providers to immediately follow-up with the appropriate community referrals to services for women with recent or ongoing IPV exposure (Bair-Merritt et al., 2014). Services specifically for IPV-exposed pregnant women may be of importance as these interventions will consider the developmental needs of both the mother and her child. While research in this area has been limited by several practical challenges, successful interventions generally include safety planning and access to resources, including social support (Howell et al., 2017). One intervention, based on interpersonal psychotherapy, has been shown to reduce symptoms of both posttraumatic disorder and depression (Zlotnick et al., 2011) by helping participants improve interpersonal relationships, build support networks, and transition into motherhood. Other interventions have utilized home visits by trained nurses, who focus on education regarding health behaviors, childcare, and emotion regulation (Eckenrode et al., 2000; Mejdoubi et al., 2013).

As we make these recommendations, we must also underscore the potential ways in which the pathway we have described, as well as the interventions mentioned earlier, may be exacerbated and challenged by the intersection of identities. Crenshaw (1991) has written extensively about the concurrent race-based and gender-based devaluation processes to which black women are subjected, making them considerably vulnerable to spousal violence. Along the same vein, other women of color and immigrant women, multiply marginalized as a result of similar devaluation based on race, gender, and nativity, are also subjects of intersecting patterns of subordination, culminating in greater gender-based violence such as rape and domestic violence (Crenshaw, 1991). It is important to note that heightened risk for IPV experiences among these populations is not a result of cultural differences but rather pervasive systemic oppression that has placed these women in socially and economically disadvantaged positions (Fox et al., 2002; Golden et al., 2013). Seeing as black, indigenous, and other women of color may see more instances of IPV in their lifetime (Cho, 2011), based on the pathway we have presented in our article, it is possible that children of women of color who have a history of IPV are also exceptionally vulnerable to peer bullying victimization and developing adolescent depression symptoms. Screening and appropriate connection to supportive services, in the instance of black women, may also be more difficult due to “toxic black femininity,” described by Kelley et al. (2020) as “the internalized and dominant message that, as a black woman, one must be rigidly strong, hypersexual, and primary caregiver to all, before acknowledging or taking care of one’s own needs and desires” (p. 55). A study on the help-seeking behaviors of black women revealed that many feel the need to resolve their problems on their own since IPV is conceptualized as a “private matter” (Lacey et al., 2021). Kelley et al. (2020) report that many Black women delay seeking out formal supportive services for IPV, and once connected to services, Black women have typically endured greater violence than their white counterparts. When considering the implications of IPV’s effects specifically on Black women, we must foreground the intersection of several forms of oppression (Crenshaw, 1991). Research on IPV experiences of Black women should use diverse Black Samples, employ intersectionality, and consider the intergenerational racial trauma endured by this population (West, 2004).

Our study also highlights that providing interventions at school and community levels may be another avenue to prevent depression symptoms within adolescents as perceived support from peers can increase prosocial behaviors by decreasing emotional distress (Wentzel & McNamara, 1999). Literature on bullying prevention has shown that school-based interventions had significant performance on reducing school bullying (e.g., Salmivalli et al., 2005; Cross et al., 2011). Meanwhile, Polanin et al.’s (2012) meta-analysis indicated that school-based programs can reduce bullying behaviors through bystander interventions. In addition to schoolwide efforts, Holt et al. (2013) also emphasized community-based strategies to address factors outside the sphere of the school environment, including extracurricular programs, healthcare providers, law enforcement, community-based bullying prevention initiatives.

Many studies on teen depression symptoms and maternal depression symptoms have shown teen and maternal socioeconomic characteristics and experiences, such as social support, employment, and housing (Cairney et al., 2003; Fowler et al., 2015; Marcal, 2018), as well as their environmental stressors, including potential ongoing exposure to a violent partner (Levendosky et al., 2002; Johnson et al., 2014; Sternberg et al., 2006), made differences on the outcome variables. This study applies longitudinal data collected across 15 years and aims to examine the long-term effects of IPV, as well as the temporal sequence of such effects, to explain how IPV experienced by the mother during pregnancy may affect teen depression through maternal depression and parenting. The extent to which the aforementioned socioeconomic characteristics and environmental stressors affect the estimates that we have reported is unknown and therefore requires further investigation. One limitation of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study is data attrition across waves, particularly for fathers of the focal children. Only around 30% of partners whose data were collected at baseline also had data collected in later waves. As a result, including these characteristics and experiences in our analyses would have substantially reduced sample size and representativeness of the findings.

We also want to clarify that this study does not contextualize mothers’ physical punishment toward children as a manifestation of child maltreatment and certainly does not seek to blame mothers for effects of IPV on their parenting. As a population that is disproportionally victimized by IPV, mothers have already suffered from extensive challenges (e.g., Jones et al., 2001; Beydoun et al., 2012). Meanwhile, they are also the individuals who take on the majority of caregiving responsibilities. Doubly burdened by their depression symptoms and parenting stress, mothers with IPV experiences may experience greater challenges engaging in healthy parenting practices (Huth-Bocks & Hughes, 2008; Leigh & Milgrom, 2008). Therefore, trauma-informed parenting education shows promise in alleviating maternal mental health issues and inappropriate parenting behaviors simultaneously. Furthermore, interventions can focus on parent–child dyads in order to provide direct guidance on developmentally appropriate disciplinary practices. To reach an ideal outcome, educational training programs for frontline family violence responders, such as police, teachers, and healthcare professionals, are critical as well (Taylor et al., 2009).

Our findings should be interpreted in the context of several limitations. First, the Fragile Families study used limited measurements of emotional and physical IPV. Specifically, both physical victimization and emotional victimization were measured by only one item each, so they may not accurately reflect the IPV experiences of the sample. It is well supported that IPV manifests in various ways and relying on a few indicators could exclude a variety of other forms of IPV. As a result, the study is restricted in its ability to tap into the true range of such experiences. In addition, our study only measured the occurrence of IPV during the past month, which is a relatively short period. Women who experienced IPV outside of this timeframe were excluded from our analysis, potentially leading to the underestimated prevalence and results. Second, all information gathered on IPV victimization, depression symptoms, physical punishment, and bullying victimization was self-reported. Information about women’s IPV experience and children’s bullying victimization may be underreported due to social desirability bias. Even though some strategies can be utilized to validate the data, such as triangulation of data collection and sensitive elicitation of information, these limitations likely still exist to some extent (McMahon et al., 2011). Third, this study did not control for the effects of many teen and maternal socioeconomic characteristics, as well as the perpetrators behaviors, on the mother's parenting ability and teen depression, due to data limitation. Future studies should examine the extent of these variables on the relationship found in this study. Finally, it is important to note that due to selective attrition and incomplete surveys, the resultant sample only included 42% of the original cases, which may lead to some biased results and limit the generalizability of our findings.

Although our study is subject to the aforementioned limitations, it also adds to existing research about IPV victimization and its effects on mothers and their children. Our study reveals that mothers’ prenatal IPV victimization confers a profound and negative burden on adolescent depression symptoms via maternal depression symptoms, physical punishment, and peer bullying victimization. To intervene in this pathway, it is necessary to evaluate the consequences of IPV victimization from a long-term perspective, sheltering both women and children. Meanwhile, health care procedures and protocols should incorporate potential interventions at various points of the life span, including early screening questions for potential IPV and referrals to local domestic violence agencies.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Yafan Chen

Author Biographies

Yafan Chen, MSW, is a doctoral student at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, School of Social Work, and a graduate assistant at the Huamin Research Center. Her research interests include violence against women and children, and child development. She is interested in studying how children’s exposure to intimate partner violence affects child developmental outcomes.

Shannon Cheung, MSW, is a doctoral student at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, School of Social Work, and a research assistant at the Huamin Research Center. Her research interests include survivors of intimate partner violence, mental health, and Asian American immigrants.

Chien-Chung Huang, PhD, is a professor at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, School of Social Work, and the Director of the Huamin Research Center. His research focuses on international social work, child well-being, nonprofit management and philanthropy, social welfare policy, poverty and welfare reform, and domestic violence.

References

Bailey

B. A.

(2010). Partner violence during pregnancy: Prevalence, effects, screening, and management. International Journal of Women’s Health , 2, 183. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S8632

Bair-Merritt

M. H.

, Lewis-O’Connor

, Goel

, Amato

, Ismailji

, Jelley

, Lenahan

, & Cronholm

(2014). Primary care-based interventions for intimate partner violence: A systemic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine , 46(2), 188–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2013.10.001

Bandura

(1978). Social learning theory of aggression. Journal of Communication , 28(3), 12–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1978.tb01621.x

Beeble

M. L.

, Bybee

, & Sullivan

C. M.

(2007). Abusive men’s use of children to control their partners and ex-partners. European Psychologist , 12(1), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.12.1.54

Beydoun

H. A.

, Beydoun

B. A.

, Kaufman

J. S.

, Lo

, & Zonderman

A. B.

(2012). Intimate partner violence against adult women and its association with major depressive disorder, depressive symptoms and postpartum depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine , 75(6), 959–675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.04.025

Cairney

, Boyle

, Offord

D. R.

, & Racine

(2003). Stress, social support and depression in single and married mothers. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology , 38, 442–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-003-0661-0

Cho

(2011). Racial differences in the prevalence of intimate partner violence against women and associated factors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 27(3), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260511416469

Côté

S. M.

, Ahun

M. N.

, Herba

C. M.

, Brendgen

, Geoffroy

M. -C.

, Orri

, Liu

, Vitaro

, Melchior

, Boivin

, Tremblay

, & R.

(2018). Why is maternal depression related to adolescent internalizing problems? A 15-year population-based study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry , 57(12), 916–924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.04.024

Crenshaw

(1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review , 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039

10.

Cross

, Monks

, Hall

, Shaw

, Pintabona

, Erceg

, Hamilton

, Roberts

, Waters

, & Lester

(2011). Three-year results of the Friendly Schools whole-of-school intervention on children’s bullying behaviour. British Educational Research Journal , 37(1), 105–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920903420024

11.

Dwyer

K. M.

, Fredstrom

B. K.

, Rubin

, Booth-LaForce

, Rose-Krasnor

, & Burgess

K. B.

(2010). Attachment, social information processing, and friendship quality of early adolescent girls and boys. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships , 27(1), 91–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407509346420

12.

Eckenrode

, Ganzel

, Henderson

C. R.

, Smith

, Olds

D. L.

, Powers

, Cole

, Kitzman

, & Siddora

(2000). Preventing child abuse and neglect with a program of nurse home visitation: The limiting effects of domestic violence. JAMA , 284(11), 1385–1391. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.284.11.1385

13.

Figge

C. J.

, Martinez-Torteya

, Bogat

G. A.

, & Levendosky

A. A.

(2021). Child appraisals of interparental conflict: The effects of intimate partner violence and parent–child relationship quality. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 36(9-10), NP4919–NP4940. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518794509

14.

Fong

V. C.

, Hawes

, & Allen

J. L.

(2017). A systematic review of risk and protective factors for externalizing problems in children exposed to intimate partner violence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse , 20(2), 149–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017692383

15.

Fowler

J. C.

, Allen

J. G.

, Oldham

J. M.

, & Frueh

B. C.

(2013). Exposure to interpersonal trauma, attachment insecurity, and depression severity. Journal of Affective Disorders , 149(1), 313–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.01.045

16.

Fowler

P. J.

, Henry

D. B.

, & Marcal

K. E.

(2015). Family and housing instability: Longitudinal impact on adolescent emotional and behavioral well-being. Social Science Research , 53, 364–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.06.012

17.

Fox G. L.

Benson

, M. L.

DeMaris

, A.

, & Van Wyk

(2002). Economic distress and intimate violence: Testing family stress and resource theories. Journal of Marriage and Family , 64(30), 793—807. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00793.x

18.

Fusco

R. A.

(2017). Socioemotional problems in children exposed to intimate partner violence: mediating effects of attachment and family supports. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 32(16), 2515–2532. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515593545

19.

Golden

S. D.

, Perreira

K. M.

, & Durrance

C. P.

(2013). Troubled times, troubled relationships: How economic resources, gender beliefs, and neighborhood disadvantage influence intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 28(10), 2134–2155. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260512471083

20.

Hammen

, Hazel

N. A.

, Brennan

P.A.

, & Najman

(2012). Intergenerational transmission and continuity of stress and depression: Depressed women and their offspring in 20 years of follow-up. Psychological Medicine , 42, 931–942. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291711001978

21.

Herman

J. L.

(1992). Trauma and recovery . Basic Books.

22.

Huang

C-C.

, Wang

L. R.

, Warrenner

(2010). Effects of domestic violence on behavior problems of preschool-aged children: Do maternal mental health and parenting mediate the effects? Children and Youth Services Review , 32, 1317–1323.

23.

Holt

, Raczynski

, Frey

, Hymel

, & Limber

(2013). School and community-based approaches for preventing bullying. Journal of School Violence , 12, 238–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2013.792271

24.

Howell

K. H.

, Miller-Graff

L. E.

, Hasselle

A. J.

, & Scrafford

K. E.

(2017). The unique needs of pregnant, violence-exposed women: A systematic review of current interventions and directions for translational research. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 34, 128–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.01.021

25.

L. T.

, & Bentler

P. M.

(1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118

26.

Huth-Bocks

A. C.

, & Hughes

H. M.

(2008). Parenting stress, parenting behavior, and children’s adjustment in families experiencing intimate partner violence. Journal of Family Violence, 23(4), 243–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9148-1

27.

Jaycox

L. H.

, Stein

B. D.

, Paddock

, Miles

J. N.V.

, Chandra

, Meredith

L.S.

, Tanielian

, Hickey

& Burnam

M. A.

(2009). Impact of teen depression on academic, social, and physical functioning . Pediatrics, 124(4), e596–e605. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2008-3348

28.

Johnson

, Dupuis

, Piche

, Clayborne

, & Colman

(2018). Adult mental health outcomes of adolescent depression: A systematic review. Depression & Anxiety , 35(8), 700–716. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22777

29.

Johnson

J. K.

, Haider

, Ellis

, Hay

D. M.

, & Lindow

S. W.

(2003). The prevalence of domestic violence in pregnant women. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology , 110(3), 272–275. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-0528.2003.02216.x

30.

Johnson

W. L.

, Giordano

P. C.

, Longmore

M. A.

, & Manning

W. D.

(2014). Intimate partner violence and depression symptoms during adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Health and Social Behavior , 55(1), 39–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146513520430

31.

Jones

, Hughes

, & Unterstaller

(2001). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in victims of domestic violence: A review of the research. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse , 2(2), 99–119. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838001002002001

32.

Keenan-Miller

, Hammen

C. L.

, & Brennan

P. A.

(2007). Health outcomes related to early adolescent depression. Journal of Adolescent Health , 41(3), 256–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.03.015

33.

Kelley

L. C.

, Spencer

C. M.

, Stith

S. M.

, & Beliard

(2020). “I’m black, I’m strong, and I need help”: Toxic black femininity and intimate partner violence. Journal of Family Theory & Review , 12(1), 54–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12358

34.

Kessler

R. C.

, Andrews

, Mroczek

, Ustun

, & Wittchen

H. U.

(1998). The World Health Organization composite international diagnostic interview short-form (CIDI-SF). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 7(4), 171–185. https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.47

35.

Kluczniok

, Attar

Hindi

, C.

Fydrich

, T.

Fuehrer

, D.

Jaite

, C.

Domes

, G.

Winter

, S.

Herpertz

, S.

, Brunner

, Boedeker

, & Bermpohl

(2016). Transgenerational effects of maternal depression on affect recognition in children. Journal of Affective Disorders , 189, 233–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.09.051

36.

Lacey

K. K.

, Jiwatram-Negron

, & Sears

K. P.

(2021). Help-seeking behaviors and barriers among black women exposed to severe intimate partner violence: findings from a nationally representative sample. Violence Against Women , 27(6-7), 952–972. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801220917464

37.

Leigh

, & Milgrom

(2008). Risk factors for antenatal depression, postnatal depression and parenting stress. BMC Psychiatry , 8(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-8-24

38.

Levendosky

A. A.

, Huth-Bocks

, & Semel

M. A.

(2002). Adolescent peer relationships and mental health functioning in families with domestic violence. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology , 31(2), 206–218. https://dx-doi-org.web.bisu.edu.cn/10.1207/S15374424JCCP3102_06

39.

Luoma

, Tamminen

, Kaukonen

, Laippala

, Puura

, Salmelin

, & Almqvist

(2001). Longitudinal study of maternal depressive symptoms and child well-being. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry , 40(12), 1367–1374. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200112000-00006

40.

McMahon

, Huang

C-C.

, Boxer

, Postmus

(2011). The impact of emotional and physical violence during pregnancy on maternal and child health at one year post-partum. Children and Youth Services Review , 33, 2103–2111.

41.

Marcal

(2018). Timing of housing crises: Impacts on maternal depression. Social Work in Mental Health , 16(3), 266–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2017.1385565

42.

Marcus

S. M.

(2009). Depression during pregnancy: Rates, risks and consequences. Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology , 16(1). https://jptcp.com/index.php/jptcp/article/view/295

43.

McMahon

, Huang

C.-C.

, Boxer

, & Postmus

J. L.

(2011). The impact of emotional and physical violence during pregnancy on maternal and child health at one year post-partum. Children and Youth Services Review , 33(11), 2103–2111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.06.001

44.

Mejdoubi

, van den Heijkant

S. C. C. M.

, van Leerdam

F. J. M.

, Heymans

M. W.

, Hirasing

R. A.

, & Crijnen

A. A. M.

(2013). Effect of nurse home visits vs. usual care on reducing intimate partner violence in young high-risk pregnant women: A randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE , 8(10), Article e78185. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078185

45.

Naicker

, Galambos

N. L.

, Zeng

, Senthilselvan

, & Colman

(2013). Social, demographic, and health outcomes in the 10 years following adolescent depression. Journal of Adolescent Health , 52(5), 533–538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.12.016

46.

Nicholson

J. V.

, Chen

, Huang

C-C.

(2018). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence and peer bullying victimization. Children and Youth Services Review , 91, 439–446.

47.

O’Reilly

, Beale

, & Gillies

(2010). Screening and intervention for domestic violence during pregnancy care: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 11(4), 190–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838010378298

48.

Orr

S. T.

, & Miller

C. A.

(1995). Maternal depressive symptoms and the risk of poor pregnancy outcome. Epidemiologic Reviews , 17(1), 165–171. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.epirev.a036172

49.

Padilla-Walker

L. M.

, Carlo

, & Nielson

M. G.

(2015). Does helping keep teens protected? Longitudinal bidirectional relations between prosocial behavior and problem behavior. Child Development , 86(6), 1759–1772. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12411

50.

Perreira

K. M.

, Deeb-Sossa

, Harris

K. M.

, & Bollen

(2005). What are we measuring? An evaluation of the ces-d across race/ethnicity and immigrant generation. Social Forces , 83(4), 1567–1601. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2005.0077

51.

Polanin

J. R.

, Espelage

D. L.

, & Pigott

T. D.

(2012). A meta-analysis of school-based bullying prevention programs’ effects on bystander intervention behavior. School Psychology Review , 41(1), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2012.12087375

52.

Rahman

, Iqbal

, Bunn

, Lovel

, & Harrington

(2004). Impact of maternal depression on infant nutritional status and illness: A cohort study. Archives of General Psychiatry , 61(9), 946–952. https://dx-doi-org.web.bisu.edu.cn/10.1001/archpsyc.61.9.946

53.

Raposa

, Hammen

, Brennan

, & Najman

(2014). The long-term effects of maternal depression: Early childhood physical health as a pathway to offspring depression. Journal of Adolescent Health , 54(1), 88–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.07.038

54.

Reichman

N. E.

, Teitler

J. O.

, Garfinkel

, & McLanahan

S. S.

(2001). Fragile families: Sample and design. Children and Youth Services Review , 23 (4/5), 303–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-7409(01)00141-4

55.

Salmivalli

, Kaukiainen

, & Voeten

(2005). Anti-bullying intervention: Implementation and outcome. British Journal of Educational Psychology , 75(3), 465–487. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709905X26011

56.

Sharps

P. W.

, Laughon

, Giangrande

S. K.

(2007). Intimate partner violence and the childbearing year: maternal and infant health consequences. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse , 8(2), 105–116.

57.

Shonkoff

J. P.

, Garner

A. S.

The Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, Committee On Early Childhood Adoption, And Dependent Care, And Section On Developmental And Behavioral Pediatrics, , Siegel

B. S.

, Dobbins

M. I.

, Earls

M. F.

, Garner

A. S.

, McGuinn

, Pascoe

, & Wood

D. L.

(2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics , 129(1), e232–e246. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2663

58.

Smith

S. G.

, Zhang

, Basile

K. C.

, Merrick

M. T.

, Wang

, Kresnow

, & Chen

(2018). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey (NISVS): 2015 data brief updated release . National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

59.

Sroufe

L. A.

(2005). Attachment and development: A prospective, longitudinal study from birth to adulthood. Attachment and Human Development , 7, 349–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730500365928

60.

Sternberg

K. J.

, Lamb

M. E.

, Guterman

, & Abbott

C. B.

(2006). Effects of early and later family violence on children’s behavior problems and depression: A longitudinal, multi-informant perspective. Child Abuse & Neglect , 30( 3 ), 283–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.10.008

61.

Taylor

C. A.

, Guterman

N. B.

, Lee

S. J.

, & Rathouz

P. J.

(2009). Intimate partner violence, maternal stress, nativity, and risk for maternal maltreatment of young children. American Journal of Public Health , 99(1), 175–183. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2007.126722

62.

Van der Waerden

, Galéra

, Larroque

, Saurel-Cubizolles

M.-J.

, Sutter-Dallay

A.-L.

, & Melchior

(2015). Maternal depression trajectories and children’s behavior at age 5 years. The Journal of Pediatrics , 166(6), 1440–1448.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.03.002

63.

Wentzel

K. R.

, & McNamara

C. C.

(1999). Interpersonal relationships, emotional distress, and prosocial behavior in middle school. The Journal of Early Adolescence , 19(1), 114–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431699019001006

64.

West

C. M.

(2004). Black women and intimate partner violence: New directions for research. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 19(12), 1487–1493. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260504269700

65.

Zeanah

C. H.

, Danis

, Hirshberg

, Benoit

, Miller

, Heller

Scott

S. (1999). Disorganized attachment associated with partner violence: A research note. Infant Mental Health Journal , 20(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0355(199921)20:1<77::AID-IMHJ6>3.0.CO;2-S

66.

Zlotnick

, Capezza

N. M.

, Parker

(2011). An interpersonally based intervention for low-income pregnant women with intimate partner violence: a pilot study. Archives of women’s mental health , 14(1), 55–65.