Renee McDonald

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.

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.

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.

Psychometric properties of family members' reports of parental physical aggression toward clinic-referred children.

This study examined (a) differences among mothers, fathers, and childrens reports of parental physical aggression toward children; (b) the reliability and validity of family members reports of aggression using confirmatory factor analysis; and (c) the discriminant validity of the constructs of mother-child and father-child aggression. Participants were 72 dual-parent families in which the parents were seeking clinical services for their childrens (ages 7-9 years) conduct behavior problems. Each participant completed the parent-child version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (P-CTS). Results indicate that children reported lower levels of mother-child and father-child aggression than either mothers or fathers reported. Although the reliability (total systematic variance accounted for by observed variables) of family members reports on the P-CTS ranged from moderate to high, convergent validity was generally low. The constructs of mother-child and father-child aggression were highly correlated but could be distinguished from each other when relationships among rater effects were considered.

Conduct Problems Among Children at Battered Women's Shelters: Prevalence and Stability of Maternal Reports

The present research was designed to (1) replicate prevalence estimates of clinical levels of conduct problems in a large (n = 401) sample of children residing at a shelter for battered women, and (2) assess the stability of mothers reports of child conduct problems following shelter departure. According to mothers reports on standardized questionnaires and diagnostic interviews obtained during shelter residence, approximately one third of the children between 4 and 10 years of age exhibited clinical levels of conduct problems. Prior research has demonstrated elevated maternal distress during shelter residence and suggests that such distress may influence mothers reports of child conduct problems. To examine this issue, a subset of families with children exhibiting clinical levels of conduct problems (n = 68) was reassessed following their shelter departure. Mothers reports of child conduct problems remained stable despite significant reductions in mothers distress after shelter exit.

Husbands' marital violence and the adjustment problems of clinic-referred children

This research assessed the relation between husbands marital violence and child problems in a sample of families seeking clinical services for their childrens (4 to 7 years) oppositional, noncompliant behavior. We assessed whether husbands marital violence was associated with increased levels of child problems after accounting for parental marital discord, parent-child aggression, and wives acts of aggression toward husbands. We also assessed the contribution of data collected from fathers in evaluating the relation between husbands marital violence and child problems. Ninety mothers and fathers each provided data on husbands marital violence, their childrens externalizing and internalizing problems, general marital discord, parental aggression toward children, and wives aggression toward husbands. Husbands marital violence was associated with child problems, even after accounting for general marital discord, parental aggression toward children, and wives aggression toward husbands. The documented relations were more a function of fathers than mothers reports of child problems. In fact, relations between husbands marital violence and child problems emerged only when fathers data were included.