title: Path Analysis Association between Domestic Violence, Anxiety, Depression and Perceived Stress in Mothers and Children's Development.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Given that several factors involved in the incidence or exacerbation of developmental disorders in children, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between some of the risk factors affecting mothers' health and development in children using path analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 750 mothers and their children in health centers in Tehran, Iran in 2014 enrolled through multi-stage random sampling. Data were collected using a demographic and personal information questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, Beck's depression Inventory, Spielberger' anxiety inventory, the WHO domestic violence questionnaire and an ages & stages questionnaire for assessing children's development. Data were analyzed using SPSS.19 (Chicago, IL, USA) and Lisrel 8.8.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Developmental delay was observed in 12.1% of the children. The mean stress score was 23.94±8.62 in the mothers, 50.7% of whom showed mild to severe depression, 84.2% moderate to severe anxiety and 35.3% had been subjected to domestic violence. The path analysis showed that children's development was affected directly by perceived stress (β=-0.09) and depression (β=-0.17) and indirectly by domestic violence (β=-0.05278) and anxiety (β=-0.0357). Of all the variables examined, depression had the biggest influence on development in the children (β=-0.17). The proposed model showed a good fit (GFI=1, RMSEA=0.034).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children's development was influenced indirectly by domestic violence and anxiety and directly by perceived stress and depression in mothers. It is thus suggested that more concern and attention be paid to women's mental health and the domestic violence they experience.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrician, Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences. Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Roshanak
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vameghi
authors.affiliation: PhD Candidate, Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences. Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sedigheh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amir Ali Akbari
authors.affiliation: Pediatrician, Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences. Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Firoozeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sajedi
authors.affiliation: Community Medicine, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Homeira
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sajjadi
authors.affiliation: Biostatistician, Department of Biostatistics, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alavi Majd
keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Developmental delay; Domestic violence; Path analysis; perceived stress