Ernest N. Jouriles

Patterns of adjustment among children of battered women

Children exposed to interparental violence have been characterized by an array of psychological problems, but findings regarding the precise nature of these problems have been inconsistent. This study used cluster analysis to determine whether distinct patterns of adjustment could be identified in 228 8- to 14-year-old children residing in battered womens shelters. Five such patterns emerged: multiproblem-externalizing, multiproblem-internalizing, externalizing, mild distress, and no problems reported. This solution was cross-validated in independent halves of the sample and was similar for boys and girls. Differences among the clusters on relevant family and demographic variables were examined, and it was found that the clusters could be distinguished on the basis of the frequency of childrens exposure to interparental violence, parent-child aggression, and childrens appraisals of interparental conflict.

Interparental Conflict and Child Adjustment: Testing the Mediational Role of Appraisals in the Cognitive‐Contextual Framework

Childrens appraisals of interparental conflict consistently have been associated with adjustment problems, but the processes that give rise to this association are not well understood. This paper proposes that appraisals of threat and self-blame mediate the association between childrens reports of interparental conflict and internalizing problems, and tests this mediational hypothesis in two samples of children, one drawn from the community (317 ten- to fourteen-year-olds) and the other from battered womens shelters (145 ten- to twelve-year-olds). Results indicate that perceived threat mediates the association between interparental conflict and internalizing problems for boys and girls in both samples, and self-blame mediates this association for boys in both samples and girls in the shelter sample. Perceived threat and self-blame do not mediate links with externalizing problems, and there is no evidence of a moderating effect of appraisals on the association between conflict and child adjustment. Implications for understanding the mechanism by which exposure to interparental conflict could lead to child maladjustment are discussed.

Physical aggression toward boys and girls in families characterized by the battering of women

Forty-eight families (mothers and children) participated in a study on physical aggression toward boys and girls in households characterized by the battering of women. In each family, the mother had sought shelter because of relationship violence and had a son and daughter between 4 and 14 years. Mothers completed measures of physical marital violence directed at themselves, aggression toward children, and childrens externalizing behavior problems. Older children completed measures of aggression directed at themselves. Results indicated that child gender moderates the relationship between the battering of women and aggression toward children. In families characterized by «more extreme» battering, boys were more often victims of aggression than girls, boys exhibited more externalizing problems than girls, and gender differences in externalizing problems helped account for the differential aggression directed at boys and girls

Reducing Conduct Problems Among Children of Battered Women

This study was an experimental evaluation of an intervention designed to reduce conduct problems among children of battered women. Participants were 36 families (mothers and children) in which the mother had sought shelter because of relationship violence and had at least 1 child (4-9 years old) with clinical levels of conduct problems. The intervention consisted of 2 primary components: (a) providing instrumental and emotional support and (b) teaching child management skills to mothers. Families were randomly assigned to either the intervention condition or the existing services comparison condition and were assessed on 5 occasions over 16 months after shelter departure. Compared with families receiving existing services, children in the intervention condition improved at a faster rate, the proportion of children displaying clinical levels of conduct problems was greatly diminished, and mothers displayed greater improvements in child management skills.

Marital conflict, parenting, and toddler conduct problems.

The present research examined relationships involving marital conflict, parenting, and toddler conduct problems. Sixty mother-toddler dyads (30 boys and 30 girls) participated as subjects. Mothers completed measures of general marital satisfaction, overt marital conflict, and toddler conduct problems. Maternal parenting and toddler deviance were assessed during a laboratory observation. Marital conflict was positively correlated with observations of toddler deviance and maternal reports of conduct problems. Marital conflict also correlated positively with the frequency of maternal disapproval statements directed toward sons misbehaviors and was correlated negatively with the ratio of disapproval statements to daughters misbehaviors. The present results indicate that marital conflict is associated with toddler conduct problems. The results also suggest the importance of examining parenting practices and child characteristics that may mediate the relationship between marital conflict and child behavior problems.

Physical Violence and Other Forms of Marital Aggression: Links With Children's Behavior Problems

Two studies examined whether physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression (e.g., threats, throwing objects) correlate with childrens behavior problems in families marked by recent spousal violence. Study 1 included 55 families seeking marital therapy. Study 2 included 199 families at battered womens shelters. In the marital therapy sample, both physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with childrens externalizing problems. In the womens shelter sample, physical violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with childrens externalizing and internalizing problems. After accounting for the frequency of physical marital violence, forms of marital aggression other than physical violence still related to childrens externalizing problems in the marital therapy sample and to childrens internalizing problems in the womens shelter sample.

Variability in Adjustment of Children of Battered Women: The Role of Child Appraisals of Interparent Conflict

The present study evaluates relations between childrens appraisals of interparent conflict and child adjustment problems in families characterized by extreme interparent violence. Participants were 154 children (age 8–12) and their mothers. Children completed measures of their appraisals of interparent conflict (self-blame, threat, fear of abandonment) and mothers and children completed indices of child adjustment. Our results indicate that child self-blaming for interparent conflict correlates positively with mothers reports of externalizing child problems. Self-blame, threat, and fear of abandonment appraisals each correlate positively with child self-reports of anxiety/depression. In addition, child age moderates relations between each of the measured child appraisals and mothers reports of child adjustment problems, with the appraisals being more positively related to problems of older children.

Husband's aggression toward wives and mothers' and fathers' aggression toward children: moderating effects of child gender

This study assesses the role of child gender in moderating the association between husbands aggression toward wives and parental aggression toward children. Participants were 73 mothers who experienced at least one incident of marital aggression during the past 12 months. Each mother had a child between 5 and 16 years of age. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that the Husbands Aggression Toward Wives x Child Gender interaction contributed unique variance to the prediction of both mothers and fathers aggression toward children after husbands aggression toward wives, child gender, and child age were controlled. Pearson correlations indicate that husbands aggression toward wives correlated positively with mothers and fathers aggression toward boys but not toward girls.

Effects of marital conflict on subsequent parent-son interactions.

This research examined effects of marital conflict on subsequent parent-son interactions. Subjects were 48 maritally intact families with sons between 41 and 82 months. Families were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: (1) a nonconflictual marital interaction followed by a mother-son interaction; (2) a nonconflictual marital interaction followed by a father-son interaction; (3) a conflictual marital interaction followed by a mother-son interaction; or (4) a conflictual marital interaction followed by a father-son interaction. Marital conflict altered parents general conversation with their sons, fathers delivery of confusing and threatening commands, and sons noncompliance to fathers commands. Effects of marital conflict on each of these behaviors dissipated over time. Additionally, marital conflict was found to interact with parent gender, differentially influencing the probability of parents responding to noncompliance with vague/confusing commands. Discussion focuses on theory linking marital conflict to parenting.

Effects of maternal mood on mother-son interaction patterns

This study evaluated the impact of maternal mood on mother-son interaction patterns. Forty boys between the ages of 46 and 72 months and their mothers participated. A within-subject experimental design was employed so that all mothers participated in both a positive and a negative mood induction. Observations of mother-son interactions were conducted immediately following the mood inductions. During the negative mood condition, mothers issued fewer positive statements toward their children and engaged in less general verbal interaction. In addition, children were less compliant with maternal commands during the negative mood condition. Implications of the effects of mood on mother-child interaction patterns are discussed.