Influence of Domestic Violence on Preschooler Behavior and Functioning

• NCJ Number: 217772
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 33-42
• Author(s): Gabriel J. Ybarra; Susan L. Wilkens; Alicia F. Lieberman
• Date Published: January 2007
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): R21MH59661
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health; Irving Harris Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the effects of exposure to domestic violence on children's cognitive and behavioral functioning.

Abstract

Study findings show that children who were exposed to domestic violence had lower verbal functioning and higher internalizing behaviors (problematic feelings, attitudes, moods) than their peers who had not been exposed to domestic violence. Externalizing behaviors (physical aggression) did not differ among the children based on exposure to domestic violence. The latter finding is contrary to prior investigations of child behavior following their exposure to domestic-violence. The paired mothers who were exposed to domestic violence had greater psychological difficulties than mothers who had not been victims of domestic violence. Participants were 62 preschoolers ages 3 to 5 years, along with their mothers, who had been exposed to domestic violence. A separate group of 52 mother-child pairs from single-parent households with no domestic-violence exposure was also recruited. Assessment of the children was done through observations in a playroom. Mothers were assessed in a nearby interview room. Mothers reported on their children's exposure to violence by completing the parent report version of the Screening Survey of Children's Exposure to Community Violence. The Child Behavior Checklist 2/3 or 4/18 was used to assess the mothers' perceptions of their children's general behavioral functioning. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence assessed the children's cognitive functioning. The Conflict Tactics Scales were completed by the mothers in order to assess the frequency of various conflict-related behaviors by the mothers and their intimate partners during the past 12 months. The Life Stressor Checklist assessed the mothers' experiences of distressing events over their lifetimes, and the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale assessed the consequences of possibly traumatic events in the mothers' lives. 3 tables and 60 references