Children's exposure to violence and distress symptoms: influence of caretakers' psychological functioning.
BACKGROUND
Previous studies linking violence exposure to adverse child behavior have typically relied on parental report of child symptoms without accounting for the informant's mental well-being, despite evidence that parental mental health can influence children's mental health and the parent's report of distress symptoms.


OBJECTIVE
We assess the influence of maternal depression on the violence exposure and child distress association in a subset of the Maternal Infant Smoking Study of East Boston, a prospective birth cohort.


METHODS
Mothers reported on their children's violence exposure using the Survey of Children's Exposure to Community Violence (ETV) and completed the Checklist of Child Distress Symptoms (CCDS). The children also completed the ETV survey and the self-report version of the CCDS. Linear regression was used to assess the influence of violence exposure on distress symptoms adjusting for potential confounders, first using parent's report of exposure and outcome and a second time using the child's self-report. The mediating effect of maternal depression on the violence and distress association was also tested.


RESULTS
Among the 162 children ages 7 to 11, 51% were boys and 43% self-identified as Hispanic. When using child self-report, increased violence exposure was significantly associated with a broader range of distress symptoms (numbness, arousal, intrusion, avoidance subscales) compared to parent reported findings, which were only significantly related to the intrusion and avoidance subscales. Moreover, a significant mediation effect of maternal depression on the violence and distress association was noted only when mother's report of exposure and outcome was used.


CONCLUSIONS
Considering both parent and child self-report of violence is necessary to obtain a complete picture of violence exposure because parents and children may be offering different, although equally valid information. The influence of maternal depressive symptoms on preadolescent's distress symptoms may be attributed to reporting bias as opposed to more direct effects; thus, the parent's psychological functioning should be taken into consideration when relying on parental report of the child's psychological functioning.
Suglia
Shakira Franco
SF
Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, 88 East Newton Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA. Shakira.Suglia@bmc.org
Ryan
Louise
L
Bellinger
David C
DC
Enlow
Michelle Bosquet
MB
Wright
Rosalind J
RJ
D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*
Psychiatry. 1993 Feb;56(1):7-21
8488215
Annu Rev Psychol. 2000;51:445-79
10751978
J Trauma Stress. 2008 Oct;21(5):479-86
18956446
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002 Aug;156(8):818-23
12144374
Pediatrics. 2005 May;115(5):e582-9
15867023
Clin Chest Med. 2006 Sep;27(3):413-21, v
16880051
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2001 Mar;42(3):395-404
11321208
Psychosom Med. 2008 Feb;70(2):160-9
18158365
Psychol Med. 1983 Aug;13(3):595-605
6622612
Soc Sci Med. 1989;28(7):685-95
2711220
Am Rev Respir Dis. 1992 May;145(5):1129-35
1586058
Psychiatry. 1993 Feb;56(1):22-35
8488209
Child Abuse Negl. 2008 Aug;32(8):797-810
18752848
Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2000 Jan;70(1):115-25
10702856
Behav Res Methods. 2008 Aug;40(3):879-91
18697684
Psychol Rev. 1999 Jul;106(3):458-90
10467895
J Interpers Violence. 2007 Oct;22(10):1227-49
17766724
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1996 Aug;35(8):1078-85
8755805
J Pediatr Psychol. 1992 Jun;17(3):313-26
1640315
J Urban Health. 2008 Jan;85(1):22-38
17965940
J Clin Psychol. 1984 Sep;40(5):1184-9
6490914
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1999 Apr;38(4):359-67
10199106
Psychol Bull. 1987 Mar;101(2):213-32
3562706
Pediatrics. 1996 Sep;98(3 Pt 1):396-402
8784363
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1987 Sep;26(5):764-9
3667509
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001 Dec;155(12):1351-6
11732955
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997 May;151(5):502-4
9158444
Infant Behav Dev. 2006 Jul;29(3):445-55
17138297
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1997 Oct;25(5):399-412
9421748
Psychiatry. 1993 Feb;56(1):36-45
8488211
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2000 Nov;41(8):1049-56
11099121
Adolescence. 2003 Fall;38(151):459-79
14768992
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2007 Aug;35(4):578-93
17333360
J Adolesc Health. 2002 Dec;31(6):455-62
12457578
J Adolesc Health. 1999 Dec;25(6):396-406
10608579
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1993 Mar;32(2):419-23
8444773
J Adolesc Health. 1993 May;14(3):214-9
8323933
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1998 Feb;39(2):215-24
9669234