Citation

Rosser-Limiñana A, Suriá-Martínez R, Mateo Pérez MÁ. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020; 17(4): e1134.

Affiliation

Department of Social Work and Social Services, University of Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690 Alicante, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph17041134

PMID

32053912

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Exposure to violence perpetrated on a mother by her intimate partner (IPV or intimate partner violence) has an impact on the psychosocial adjustment of her children. In addition, the violence suffered by mothers could affect parental competences.

METHODS: Through the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), this work analyzes the psychosocial adjustment in children between 6 and 17 years old who live with their mothers in shelters after having experienced IPV situations. It also explores the association between mothers' parenting competences and children's adjustment in shelters.

RESULTS: The evaluation shows a negative correlation between the quality of mothers' care of their children during their stay in shelters and the rate of children's behavioral problems, so that the better the parental competences of mothers, the lower the rate of behavioral problems presented by children.

CONCLUSIONS: As a result of IPV, mother-child relationships can be affected. Children exposed to IPV may exhibit more externalizing behavior problems and their mothers may have difficulty demonstrating competent parenting behaviors while living in a shelter. Work should be aimed at reestablishing parenting competences in mothers and the quality of mother-child interactions while they remain in the shelters, in an effort to mitigate the psychosocial consequences of IPV for their children.

Language: en

Keywords

behavioral problems: Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL); children; intimate partner violence (IPV); mother–child interactions; parenting; shelters