U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Ecological Predictors of Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Caucasian and Ethnic Minority Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

NCJ Number
214899
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 12 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2006 Pages: 663-692
Author(s)
Sandra A. Graham-Bermann; Ellen R. DeVoe; Jacqueline S. Mattis; Shannon Lynch; Shirley A. Thomas
Date Published
July 2006
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study examined the rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and ecological predictors of variance in traumatic stress symptoms for both Caucasian and minority children, who were eyewitnesses to intimate partner violence (IPV) within the last year.
Abstract
When the ecological model of predictors of posttraumatic stress were tested for the whole sample, both Caucasian and minority children, the amount of witnessed violence was the strongest predictor, followed by mothers’ depression and child ethnicity. Exposed to a range of potentially traumatic incidents involving their mothers, Caucasian children were more likely to have a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis following exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) with their probable risk and protective factors centered on the mothers’ well-being (i.e. mental health and self-esteem). Caucasian women’s depression was more predictive of the children’s level of traumatic stress. Lower rates of PTSD (17 percent) were found for ethnic minority children. Although they had low rates of PTSD, it was unclear why African-American children’s trauma symptoms would be so highly associated with the amount of witnessed violence. Overall, for minority children, the amount of violence, mothers’ low self-esteem, and low income predicted traumatic stress. Utilizing a study sample of 218 children, ages 5 to 13 years of age and their mothers, this study applied factors known to account for variance in the traumatic stress symptoms and diagnoses of adults and children exposed to other traumatic events to understand why some children exposed to IPV might develop PTSD while others might not. Particular attention is given to exploring the traumatic stress responses of children from different cultural groups. Tables and references