title: Victim of and witness to violence: an interactional perspective on mothers' perceptions of children exposed to intimate partner violence.
abstract: This article reports a study of how mothers perceive the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy and children's exposure to IPV: (a) Do interactional aspects of IPV have a negative impact on the fetus during pregnancy or on the newborn baby? and (b) Is there a relationship between interactional aspects of IPV and (a) children's risk of being exposed to IPV and (b) the age of the child when at risk for exposure to IPV? A representative sample of 137 IPV help-seeking mothers in Norway was interviewed. Severity of physical IPV and injury from sexual IPV increased the risk of consequences to the fetus. Frequency of physical and psychological IPV increased the likelihood of children's exposure. Duration of the partnership increased the risk of children's exposure to physical and sexual IPV. Finally, there was a negative linear association between children's age when exposed for the first time and frequency of physical and psychological IPV.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research and Education in Forensic Psychiatry, Oslo University Hospital, Olso, Norway. solveig.vatnar@kompetanse-senteret.no
authors.forename: Solveig Karin Bø
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Vatnar
authors.forename: Stål
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bjørkly
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D018585:Battered Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009664:Norway; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires