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Mothers’ Experience of Intimate Partner Violence and Subsequent Offspring Attachment Security Ages 1–5 Years: A Meta-Analysis
journal contribution
posted on 2021-10-01, 00:00 authored by Jennifer Mcintosh, Evelyn Tan, A A Levendosky, A Holtzworth-MunroeAttachment status in early childhood is a key yet modifiable contributor to the development of social–emotional competence. The security and organization of the infant–mother attachment bond is particularly susceptible to stressors in the caregiving environment. While the impacts of normative interparental conflict on infant attachment are increasingly understood, the potentially unique place of intimate partner violence (IPV) in this pathway has been under-researched. This study surveyed all empirical work in this area, including unpublished literature ( k = 6, N = 3,394), to examine meta-analytic associations between maternal experiences of IPV and offspring attachment security (ages 1–5 years) measured at least 6 months post-IPV exposure. Mothers’ reports of IPV from pregnancy onward were inversely associated with offspring attachment security, r = −.23, CI [−0.42, −0.04], p = .02. Sample risk characteristics (e.g., clinical vs. community) moderated this association; child’s age at attachment measurement and method of assessing child attachment (e.g., observational, representational, parent report) also moderated at a trend level. Implications for early screening, intervention, and future research are discussed.
History
Journal
Trauma, Violence, and AbuseVolume
22Issue
4Article number
ARTN 1524838019888560Pagination
885 - 899Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INCLocation
United StatesPublisher DOI
ISSN
1524-8380eISSN
1552-8324Language
EnglishPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalUsage metrics
Keywords
Social SciencesCriminology & PenologyFamily StudiesSocial WorkviolencefamilyinfantattachmentlongitudinalDOMESTIC VIOLENCECHILDRENS EXPOSUREINFANT ATTACHMENTINTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSIONADULT ATTACHMENTEARLY-CHILDHOODYOUNG-CHILDRENMATERNAL REPRESENTATIONSDISORGANIZED ATTACHMENTEMOTIONAL AVAILABILITYLaw
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