Associations among victimization, communication, and social competence in mother-child dyads exposed to intimate partner violence

Mothers' experiences of child abuse (CA) and adulthood intimate partner violence (IPV) are linked with poorer social emotional functioning in their children. The current study examined direct relations between mothers' CA, mothers' adulthood IPV, and children's direct victimization on children's social competence using a cross-sectional dyadic design. The indirect effects of types of violence through open communication on children's social competence were also assessed. Mother-child dyads (N = 162) were recruited from community organizations in the MidSouth region of the United States; all mothers (Mage = 35.24, SD = 6.70; 80.7 % Black) reported IPV exposure in the past 6 months. On average, children were 12 years old (Mage = 12.38, SD = 2.84; 59 % female) and predominantly Black (85.5 %). A mediated path model assessed the direct effects of mothers' CA, mothers' adulthood IPV, and children's direct victimization on children's social competence, and the indirect effects of these violence variables through open mother-child communication on social competence. The path model yielded a strong fit [χ2(10) = 10.52, p = .38; RMSEA = 0.02 [CI, 0.00–0.09]; CFI = 0.99; SRMR = 0.04]. An indirect-only mediation effect was found between children's direct victimization through open mother-child communication on their social competence (β = −0.07, p = .025; 95 % CI [−0.18, −0.01]; children exposed to more direct victimization reported less open communication, which was linked to lower social competence. Results demonstrate the relation between direct victimization and children's view of themselves and their relationship with their caregivers. Increasing access to family-based interventions that reduce conflict and strengthen mother-child communication could promote children's social competence following direct victimization.