Mothers' experiences of emotional abuse from an intimate partner and its associations with children's developmental outcomes at 5 years

Ashlee Smith; Hannah Bryson; Deirdre Gartland; Fiona Mensah; Catherine E Wood; Anna Price

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106458

Mothers' experiences of emotional abuse from an intimate partner and its associations with children's developmental outcomes at 5 years

Child Abuse Negl. 2023 Dec:146:106458. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106458. Epub 2023 Oct 20.

Authors

Ashlee Smith¹, Hannah Bryson², Deirdre Gartland³, Fiona Mensah⁴, Catherine E Wood⁵, Anna Price⁶

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, 50 Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia. Electronic address: ashlee.smith@mcri.edu.au.
² Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3052, VIC, Australia.
³ Intergenerational Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
⁴ Intergenerational Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
⁵ Department of Psychological Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia.
⁶ Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, 50 Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.

PMID: 37866251
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106458

Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with an increased risk of poorer child development. Existing research has focused on physical abuse with less known about the associations with emotional IPV.

Objective: To describe the period prevalence of mother's experiences of emotional IPV during children's preschool years and associations with child mental, physical, social, and cognitive development.

Methods: Secondary analysis of control group data (n = 194) from an Australian randomised trial (right@home), which recruited pregnant women experiencing social adversity from antenatal clinics in 2013-14. Women reported emotional abuse (Composite Abuse Scale) at child ages 3-5 years. Measures of child development at 5 years included: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Social Skills Improvement System, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, School Entry Alphabetic and Phonological Awareness Readiness Test, NIH executive function subtests, sleep and health. The prevalence of emotional IPV from 3 to 5 years was estimated. Regression models compared developmental outcomes according to emotional IPV exposure, adjusted for child age, child gender, and maternal education. Missing data were accounted for using multiple imputation.

Results: From 3-5 years, emotional IPV was experienced by 57% of women. Emotional IPV exposure was consistently associated with poorer child developmental outcomes. Differences were most apparent for SDQ internalising (mean difference 1.2, 95% CI 0.2 to 2.1) and externalising difficulties (1.2, 95% CI -0.1 to 2.4).

Conclusions: Emotional IPV was highly prevalent amongst families experiencing social adversity. Developing acceptable and effective identification processes and interventions that prioritise families experiencing co-occurring social adversities should be a public health priority.

Keywords: Child development; Emotional intimate partner violence; Intimate partner violence; Social adversity.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Australia / epidemiology
Child
Child, Preschool
Emotional Abuse
Female
Humans
Intimate Partner Violence* / psychology
Mothers* / psychology
Pregnancy
Quality of Life