Partner Aggression and Children's Externalizing Problems Maternal and Partner Warmth as Protective Factors

• Published in: Journal of family psychology Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 459 - 467
• Main Authors: Skopp, Nancy A, McDonald, Renee, Jouriles, Ernest N, Rosenfield, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-09-2007
• Subjects: Abusive relationships; Affect; Aggressiveness; Behavior Problems; Behavioural problems; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Behavior Disorders - epidemiology; Child Behavior Disorders - psychology; Children; Externalization; Externalizing problems; Family environment. Family history; Female; Human; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Intimate Partner Violence; Male; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Mother Child Relations; Mother-Child relationships; Mothers; Parent Child Relations; Partner Abuse; Personal relationships; Protective Factors; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk Factors; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Spouse Abuse - psychology; Spouse Abuse - statistics & numerical data; children's externalizing problems; protective factors; intimate partner aggression; maternal and partner warmth; Human; Marital relation; Aggression; Sex; Protective factor; Parent child relation; Behavioral disorder; School age; Social interaction; Family environment; Child
• ISSN: 0893-3200; 1939-1293
• DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.21.3.459

This research examined maternal and partner warmth as moderators of the relation between men's intimate partner aggression and children's externalizing problems. Participants were 157 mothers and their children (ages 7-9 years). Results indicate that maternal and partner warmth each moderated the relation between men's intimate partner aggression and children's externalizing problems. Partner-to-mother aggression was positively associated with child reports of externalizing problems at lower, but not higher, levels of maternal warmth. Similarly, partner-to-mother aggression was positively associated with mother reports of girls', but not boys', externalizing problems at lower, but not higher, levels of maternal warmth. On the other hand, the moderating effect of partner warmth was in the opposite direction and was found only with child-reported externalizing problems. Increased levels of partner-to-mother aggression related positively to child-reported externalizing problems when partners were higher, but not lower, in warmth.