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Moderating Effects of Parenting Stress on Children's Adjustment in Woman-Abusing Families

NCJ Number
173573
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: June 1998 Pages: 383-397
Author(s)
A A Levendosky; S A Graham-Bermann
Date Published
1998
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article examines several studies of the psychological effects of domestic violence on women and children.
Abstract
Research on the psychological effects of domestic violence on women and children has shown that survivors suffer increased adjustment problems and psychopathology. Battered women experience increased levels of depression, lower self-esteem, higher levels of psychological distress, and higher prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder. Children in families with woman abuse have more worries about family members and friends, exhibit more depression and aggression, lower self-esteem, increased behavior problems and psychopathology, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Parent-child aggression, child social support, maternal stress and paternal irritability are mediating variables in the effects of domestic violence on children's adjustment. Parenting by the nonviolent parent may serve as a potential protective/vulnerability factor for children regardless of the mechanisms through which they are affected by the violence. Tables, references