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Life Stress as Mediator of the Childhood Maltreatment – Intimate Partner Violence Link in Low-Income, African American Women

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Abstract

This study examined the relations between childhood maltreatment, daily life hassles, and intimate partner violence among low-income, suicidal, abused African American women (N = 208). Findings indicated a significant association between childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence, such that women who experienced childhood maltreatment were more likely to experience intimate partner violence as adults than those who reported no childhood maltreatment history. Also, results from bootstrapping analyses revealed that daily life stressors mediated the link between childhood maltreatment and both physical and nonphysical forms of intimate partner violence. These findings highlight the importance of thoroughly assessing for a history of childhood maltreatment, current intimate partner violence, and the nature and extent of daily hassles when working with low-income African American women, as well as helping abused women with a history of childhood maltreatment to cope effectively with the daily life hassles that they encounter.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: R49 CCR421767-02 entitled Group interventions with abused, suicidal African American women awarded to the last author (Kaslow).

None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Grady Health System, 80 Jesse Hill Jr Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA

    Meghna N. Patel, Jeshmin Bhaju & Nadine J. Kaslow

  2. Department of Public Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA

    Martie P. Thompson

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  1. Meghna N. Patel
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  2. Jeshmin Bhaju
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  3. Martie P. Thompson
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  4. Nadine J. Kaslow
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Correspondence to Nadine J. Kaslow.

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Patel, M.N., Bhaju, J., Thompson, M.P. et al. Life Stress as Mediator of the Childhood Maltreatment – Intimate Partner Violence Link in Low-Income, African American Women. J Fam Viol 27, 1–10 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-011-9398-9

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