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The Influence of Domestic Violence on Preschooler Behavior and Functioning

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Abstract

Enhancing current explanations of domestic violence exposure effects on child cognitive and behavioral functioning was the purpose of this investigation. Participants were 31 domestic violence exposed and 31 non-exposed children ages 3 to 5 years and their single-parent household mothers. Child-mother pairs were matched for child’s age, gender, and ethnicity, mother’s age and education, and annual family income. Child cognitive and behavioral functioning was assessed via psychological assessment and parent report. The presence of mental health difficulties in mothers was assessed using self-report and clinician-administered instruments. Exposed children showed lower verbal functioning and higher internalizing behaviors than did their non-exposed peers. Exposed mothers displayed greater psychological difficulties than did their counterparts.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NIMH Grant R21 MH59661, P.I. Alicia F. Lieberman, and by the generous contribution of the Irving B. Harris Foundation to the Child Trauma Research Project. The authors wish to express their gratitude to the administration, physicians, and staff of the San Francisco General Hospital Pediatric Clinic, the San Francisco Head Start Program, Friends of St. Francis Child Care, the Family School at Visitacion Valley Community Center, and Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, Inc., for their gracious permission and assistance in the recruitment of mother and child participants. Thanks also are due to Lori Lange, Patricia Van Horn, and Chandra Ghosh-Ippen for their thoughtful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of North Florida, 4567 St. Johns Bluff Rd.South, Jacksonville, FL, 32224-2645,, USA

    Gabriel J. Ybarra

  2. Alliant University, Alameda, CA, USA

    Susan L. Wilkens

  3. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Alicia F. Lieberman

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  1. Gabriel J. Ybarra
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  2. Susan L. Wilkens
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  3. Alicia F. Lieberman
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Correspondence to Gabriel J. Ybarra.

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Ybarra, G.J., Wilkens, S.L. & Lieberman, A.F. The Influence of Domestic Violence on Preschooler Behavior and Functioning. J Fam Viol 22, 33–42 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-006-9054-y

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