Perceptions of Interparental Conflict of Preschoolers Living in Violent Families: The Impact of Time, Environment, and Intervention.

Abstract

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) has a number of detrimental effects on the health and development of children. Cognitive contextual theory states that these effects are in part due to maladaptive cognitive appraisals children make about conflict. This research specifically examines children’s appraisals of threat and self-blame. To date, little research has examined children under the age of 6 or children exposed to IPV, and few studies have taken into influential child and parent characteristics. This dissertation aimed to (1) provide information on the development of cognitive appraisals of threat and self-blame in preschoolers exposed to IPV, (2) determine whether a 10-session, community-based intervention would be beneficial in reducing these maladaptive cognitive appraisals, and (3) examine individual and family characteristics that may act as protective or risk factors for maladaptive cognitive appraisals over time. To this end, 120 children between the ages of 4 and 6 and their mothers were interviewed at three time points over the course of one year. Approximately half of these mother-child dyads participated in an evidence-based intervention program designed to address common problems following exposure to IPV. Results indicated that children’s maladaptive appraisals do not naturally decrease over time, but appraisals of threat do appear to be effectively remediated by intervention at the trend level. Children’s adjustment problems predicted significantly higher levels of threat and self-blame, providing valuable information about how the presence of mental health problems may serve to worsen cognitive appraisals. Poor maternal mental health was linked to more positive appraisals, perhaps indicating that these mothers may be more proactive in taking measures to obtain services for their children, thereby promoting better adjustment despite their own compromised functioning.