Intimate Partner Violence and Risk for Child Neglect During Early Childhood in a Community Sample of Fragile Families

• NCJ Number: 245418
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2013 Pages: 17-29
• Author(s): Eric Nicklas; Michael J. Mackenzie
• Date Published: January 2013
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The current study explores the relationship between child neglect and intimate partner violence (IPV).

Abstract

The current study explores the relationship between child neglect and intimate partner violence (IPV) in a longitudinal community sample of 1,740 families with young children, with a special focus on the association between specific typologies of both neglect behaviors and IPV. The study focused on families followed across early childhood, because infants and toddlers are at the greatest risk of exposure to neglect (the most prevalent type of child maltreatment), and this period spanning the transition to parenthood presents heightened risk for IPV. The study found evidence that coercive IPV is an important driver of the connections between IPV and subsequent neglect through affecting the mother's well-being and ability to provide basic care and nurturance. Implications for intervention and future work addressing definitions and pathways to neglect are discussed. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.