Child Abuse Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Child Abuse, including details on family violence, examinations, long-term effects, psychiatrics disorders.

Longitudinal investigation of the relationship among maternal victimization, depressive symptoms, social support, and children's behavior and development.

Koverola C, Papas MA, Pitts S, Murtaugh C, Black MM, Dubowitz H

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA.

This article is a longitudinal investigation of the relationships between maternal victimization, maternal functioning, and children's behavior and development. Participants include 203 mother-child dyads from a low-income population recruited from pediatric primary care clinics. Data are collected when children are 4 and 8 years of age. Child outcomes are evaluated using maternal, teacher, and child self-report and objective measures of cognitive and academic functioning. Maternal victimization history is associated with maternal depressive symptoms, low levels of maternal social support, child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and low levels of child socialization. Child behavior problems identified at age 4 are enduring and persist to age 8. The effects of maternal victimization history on both internalizing behavior problems and socialization are mediated by maternal depressive symptoms. The effects of maternal depressive symptoms on externalizing behavior problems, socialization, and anger are mediated by maternal social support. Clinical implications of findings are discussed.

Published 25 October 2005 in J Interpers Violence, 20(12): 1523-46.
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