Intimate partner physical and sexual assault & child behavior problems.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the type and extent of child behavior problems reported by mothers who report intimate partner physical and sexual assault compared to mothers who reported physical assault only.


METHODS
A descriptive analysis of child behaviors, as measured on the Child Behavior Checklist, for 109 children, aged 18 months to 18 years, who were exposed to intimate partner physical and sexual assault. Multivariate analysis of variance and analysis of variance were used to determine whether children from physically and sexually assaulted mothers differed significantly in scores from children of physically assaulted only mothers.


RESULTS
Scores for youth (n = 21) 12 through 18 years of age of physically and sexually assaulted mothers were significantly higher (M = 61.5, SD = 2.4; p = .025) than scores of youth (n = 10) of physically assaulted only mothers (M = 50.8, SD = 3.5) and higher than scores of clinically referred youth in a treatment sample. Child behavior was associated with the type of violence experienced by the mother; older children were at the highest risk for behavior disorders, especially behaviors of depression and anxiety.


CONCLUSIONS
Intimate partner violence assessment of mothers during child health visits is recommended with safety planning and guided referral to community counseling, legal, shelter, and health agencies, along with information on the child behavior problems associated with domestic violence.
McFarlane
Judith
J
Texas Woman's University, College of Nursing, Houston, USA. jmcfarlane@twu.edu
Malecha
Ann
A
Watson
Kathy
K
Gist
Julia
J
Batten
Elizabeth
E
Hall
Iva
I
Smith
Sheila
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011902:Rape / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires