Interparental violence and children's long-term psychosocial adjustment: the mediating role of parenting practices

Span J Psychol. 2012 Mar;15(1):145-55. doi: 10.5209/rev_sjop.2012.v15.n1.37299.

Abstract

The objectives of this study were: (a) to examine the direct and indirect relationships among witnessing interparental violence, parenting practices, and children's long-term psychosocial adjustment; (b) to analyze the possible gender differences in the relationships specified. The sample consisted of 1295 Spanish university students (M age = 21.21, SD = 4.04). We performed statistical analyses using structural equation modeling. The results showed that witnessing parental violence as a child is related to poor long-term psychosocial adjustment during the child's adult years. Furthermore, we found that parenting practices fully mediated the relation between witnessing interparental violence and the child's long-term adjustment. The multigroup analyses showed that most of the relations among the variables did not differ significantly by gender. However, the relation between harsh discipline and antisocial behavior was stronger for males, whereas the relation between harsh discipline and depressive symptoms was stronger for females. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for the clinicians and specialists who plan and develop intervention programs for populations at risk.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Antisocial Personality Disorder / psychology
  • Child
  • Depressive Disorder / psychology
  • Domestic Violence / psychology*
  • Educational Status
  • Female
  • Gender Identity
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Models, Psychological
  • Parenting / psychology*
  • Personality Development*
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data
  • Psychometrics
  • Social Adjustment*
  • Social Desirability
  • Spouse Abuse / psychology*
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Young Adult