title: Parent-child aggression, adult-partner violence, and child outcomes: A prospective, population-based study.
abstract: Parent-child physical aggression (PCPA) and adult intimate partner violence (IPV) are common forms of family violence that often co-occur. Their deleterious effects on children and adolescents have been well documented. However, important questions remain regarding whether the type of violence exposure, the experience of one or both forms, the chronicity of violent experiences, and the age, gender, and SES of the child, differentially influence developmental outcomes. Data on 2810 children from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods were analyzed. Children aged 3-9 at the outset were assessed three times, at 3-year intervals. Primary caregivers reported on IPV, PCPA, and children's externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Children's externalizing and internalizing symptoms were examined as a function of time, age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and the time-varying effects of cumulative IPV and PCPA exposure. Cumulative experiences of IPV and PCPA each adversely affected the developmental trajectories of both externalizing and internalizing symptoms, but in different ways; and they did so independently of participants' age, gender, or SES, which all functioned as significant, independent predictors of child outcomes. PCPA was by far the more potent of the two forms of violence; and when both forms occurred, they worked additively to affect outcomes. Important questions remain regarding the reasons for the differential potency of these two forms of family violence on childhood symptoms, and related implications for interventions, as well as for later adult behavior.
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, United States. Electronic address: eleni.maneta@childrens.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Maneta
authors.affiliation: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 3rd Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, United States.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mezzacappa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017579:Domestic Violence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class
keywords: Child abuse; Domestic violence; Externalizing symptoms; Family violence; Internalizing symptoms; Intimate partner violence; Parent-child physical aggression