Interpersonal violence during pregnancy: Enduring effects in the post-partum period and implications for the intergenerational transmission of risk

Abstract

Women are at greater risk of exposure to interpersonal violence during pregnancy. The influence prenatal violence has on children’s behavioral adjustment is generally understood to stem from its impact on mothers, but there is a dearth of prospective research to test these models. The current study evaluated the influence of interpersonal violence during pregnancy on children’s behavioral adjustment in toddlerhood through the mother’s mental health and parenting in infancy. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study on the transition to motherhood (N = 682). Mothers reported on their experiences of violence during pregnancy, depression at 6 months, and their children’s behavior at 24 months. Warm, responsive behavior was coded at 8 months. Prenatal experiences of violence predicted toddlers’ aggression/defiance toward mothers through maternal depressive symptoms and parenting in infancy. There were no effects on the toddlers’ aggression toward their peers. Interpersonal violence in pregnancy was linked to aggression/defiance toward mothers in early childhood via cascading negative effects on maternal depressive symptoms and parenting.