Joint relation of intimate partner violence and parenting stress to observed emotionally unsupportive parenting behavior.

Abstract

Grounded in Emotional Security Theory (Cummings & Davies, 1994), the present study examined the unique role of parenting stress in the transmission of conflict from intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization to observed emotionally unsupportive parenting behavior (i.e., hostility, psychological control, emotional unavailability) within a community sample. Participants included 64 demographically diverse mother-child dyads (children 8-11 years). Through a comparison of 2 models, indirect effects (mediation) and conditional effects (moderation), results indicated that the relation between maternal IPV victimization and observed emotionally unsupportive parenting behavior was both indirect via parenting stress and conditional upon the level of maternal parenting stress, such that higher levels of IPV victimization were related to emotionally unsupportive parenting behavior only when mothers also experienced higher levels of parenting stress. FINDINGS suggest intervention efforts designed to reduce maternal parenting stress and increase parental emotional support might be important in reducing risk for parental engagement in emotionally unsupportive parenting behavior in the wake of IPV victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved) Language: en