Pilot randomized controlled trial of Tuning Relationships with Music: Intervention for parents with a trauma history and their adolescent

For parents who have experienced childhood interpersonal trauma, the challenges of parenting an adolescent may trigger memories of abuse, intensifying conflict, resulting in negative cycles of relating and poorer responsiveness to emotions when parenting. This study examined whether Tuning Relationships with Music, a dyadic therapy for parents and adolescents, increased responsive parent-adolescent interactions and parent emotion coaching whilst reducing conflict and adolescent mental health difficulties. Twenty-six parent-adolescent dyads were recruited if parents had a trauma history and the dyad were currently having high levels of conflict. Dyads were randomly allocated into intervention or wait-list control and completed questionnaires and observation assessments at baseline and 4-month post-baseline follow-up. Those allocated to the intervention condition participated in 8 sessions of Tuning Relationships with Music. Trial registration: ANZCTR: 12615000814572. Parents and adolescents reported significant reductions in conflict. Parents in the intervention condition were observed to significantly improve their nonverbal communication, emotional responsiveness and non-reactivity toward their adolescent. Although parents reported they were less dismissive and punitive, and more encouraging of their adolescent’s emotions, and both parents and adolescents reported improvements in the adolescent’s mental health, these were not statistically significant. Findings suggest Tuning Relationships with Music may assist parents with a history of childhood interpersonal trauma and their adolescent to reduce conflict and increase responsive ways of relating that may positively impact the young person’s mental health. Future trials with a larger sample are warranted.     

Trauma resilience among youth in substitute care demonstrating sexual behavior problems

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between several proposed protective factors and trauma symptoms among highly vulnerable youth in the child welfare system. METHODS: Participants were 142 youth identified with a sexual behavior problem and their caregivers. Two waves of data were collected for each participant an average of 18 months apart. Foster parents reported on perceived level of support from the child welfare agency, youth involvement in club activities, and perception of youths' interpersonal and emotional competence. Youth provided self-reports of their sexual and physical abuse experiences, trauma symptoms at both time 1 and time 2, and ratings of parenting practices. RESULTS: Youth with higher rates of sexual abuse showed more negative affect and higher levels of sexual and non-sexual rumination at time 2, controlling for time 1 scores. Boys and youth who experienced better parenting practices displayed lower negative affect. Youth with higher levels of emotional and interpersonal competence showed lower levels of non-sexual rumination. Moderation analyses revealed that youth with more significant sexual abuse histories whose foster parents did not feel supported by their child welfare caseworkers had higher levels of sexually ruminative thoughts. Finally, the results revealed that only youth without sexual abuse histories experienced the benefits of club involvement in terms of lower sexual rumination scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that youth with significant vulnerabilities can still exhibit a degree of protection from trauma symptomatology in the presence of a wide range of personal and social variables. These findings support the efforts of stakeholders to promote strengths at the level of the individual, family, and broader social network and community.     

Differential responsiveness to a parenting intervention for mothers in substance abuse treatment

This study examines the relationship between levels of psychological distress in substance-dependent mothers and their differential response to a dyadic parent–child intervention. A sample of 66 mothers who were receiving treatment for substance abuse, as well as a simultaneous parenting intervention, were interviewed pre and post-treatment on measures of psychological distress, adult and child trauma history, parental reflective functioning, and child social–emotional development. Additionally, clinicians provided assessments of the parent–child relationships. As anticipated, trauma histories for mothers and children, children's social emotional development, and parental reflective functioning were associated with aspects of maternal psychological distress. Kruskal–Wallis and subsequent Wilcoxson signed rank tests revealed that women with highest levels of baseline psychological distress showed significant improvements in psychological functioning post-treatment while women with moderately elevated levels of psychological distress did not. Women who were most distressed at baseline showed increased levels of parental reflective functioning post-treatment while women with moderate and lower levels of baseline psychological distress showed improvements on clinician-rated assessments of parent–child relationships. Chi Square analyses showed that parents who endorsed the highest levels of distress at baseline reported that their children's risk status regarding social–emotional development decreased post-treatment. Despite similarities in substance dependence, mothers in this sample had different needs and outcomes in the context of this parenting intervention due to variation in mental health. Given this variation, parenting interventions for substance-dependent mothers need to account for the individual differences in levels of psychological distress.     

Do hostile attributions and negative affect explain the association between authoritarian beliefs and harsh parenting?

The present study examined the associations between authoritarian parenting beliefs, attributions of hostile intent, negative affect, and harsh parenting practices. General population parents (N = 183; 31.1% fathers) completed self-report measures of authoritarian parenting beliefs and read vignettes describing children engaging in transgressions. Following each vignette, parents indicated the extent to which they would attribute hostile intent to the child, feel negative affect, and respond with harsh parenting practices (e.g., yelling, hitting). As hypothesized, parents who subscribed to higher levels of authoritarian beliefs attributed more hostile intent to the child and expected to feel more negative affect in response to the transgressions. In turn, higher levels of hostile attributions and negative affect were associated with increased likelihood of harsh parenting practices. Results from a path analysis revealed that the association between authoritarian parenting beliefs and harsh parenting practices was fully explained by attributions of hostile intent and negative affect.     

Efficacy of the Incredible Years group parent program with families in Head Start who self-reported a history of child maltreatment

Objective

A prevention form of the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program was offered to parents who had children enrolled in Head Start, regardless of whether they reported having a history of child maltreatment. This study compared whether parenting practices and child behavioral outcomes differed in families who self reported a history of child maltreatment relative to families who did not.

Methods

A site-randomized controlled trial of the IY parenting program was conducted in 64 classrooms in seven Head Start centers in Seattle, Washington. Families of 481 children took part in the study, with 335 in the IY condition and 146 in the control condition. Parenting practices and child behavior were measured by blinded raters through in-home observations and self-report questionnaires prior to the start of the IY program, in the spring after the IY program had concluded, and 12–18 months after study enrollment when children were in kindergarten. Analyses examine the impact of the IY program on parenting practices and children's behavior, exploring whether the program had differential impacts for parents with and without a self-reported history of child maltreatment.

Results

The IY program resulted in improvements along many parenting dimensions and on characteristics of observed child behavior. Program impacts were similar for parents who did and did not report a history of child maltreatment. However, parents with a reported history of prior maltreatment had greater initial room for improvement in areas such as harsh/critical parenting, nurturing/supportive parenting, and discipline competence than parents without such a history.

Conclusions

The IY parenting program has positive impacts for parents who self-reported a history of child maltreatment. While similar benefits were observed for both groups of parents in this study, results support delivering evidence-based parenting programs of longer duration and higher intensity than often used by agencies serving parents in contact with child welfare.

Practice

Agencies serving parents referred for child maltreatment should carefully examine the characteristics of the parenting programs they deliver. Use of a parenting program that has a sound base of empirical support, such as IY, and sufficient intensity and duration, is likely to make substantial changes in parents’ child-rearing practices.     

Parents’ perception of child behavior,parenting stress,and child abuse potential: Individual and partner influences

Based on the Social Information Processing model of parenting risk for child abuse, the present study examined the associations between mothers’ and fathers’ perception of child behavior and child abuse potential, as well as whether parenting stress mediates the association between these constructs. Two hundred and fifty-nine mother-father couples raising preschool children answered the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), and the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI). The results of dyadic path analysis showed that perception of child behavior was related to heightened parenting stress and abuse potential in both mothers and fathers. Concerning partner effects, we found that mothers’ perception of child behavior problems was positively associated with fathers’ parenting stress and that the higher the mothers’ distress, the higher the fathers’ risk of physical abuse. Finally, parenting distress partially mediated the association between parents’ perception of child behavior and child abuse potential, with mothers’ perception of their children as problematic showing a significant indirect effect through distress on their own abuse risk and on fathers’ CAP as well. These findings suggest that parental distress may represent a critical mechanism by which parents’ negative views of their children contribute to abuse potential. Moreover, mothers seem to influence fathers’ tendency towards abusive behaviors.     

Change trajectories for parent-child interaction sequences during parent-child interaction therapy for child physical abuse

ObjectiveParent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) has been found to reduce future child abuse reports among physically abusive parents. Reductions in observed negative parenting behaviors mediated this benefit. The current study examined session-by-session interaction sequences in order to identify when during treatment these changes occur and how much the trajectory varies from case-to-case.MethodSession-by-session parent-child interaction sequences, using the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System-II (DPICS-II) categories, were coded for 22 child welfare involved parent-child dyads undergoing PCIT for child physical abuse. A total 5,436 interactions across PCIT were coded and analyzed using growth curve analysis.ResultsAt pre-treatment baseline, negative and positive parental responses were about equally likely to follow a child positive behavior. This pattern changed rapidly during PCIT, with rapid increases in positive parental responses and decreases in negative parental responses to appropriate child behavior. A quadratic growth pattern accounted for 70% of observed variance and virtually all change occurred during the first three sessions.ConclusionChanges in observed abusive parent-abused child interaction patterns can occur early in PCIT, a parenting intervention that involves direct coaching and practice of skills. These benefits sustained throughout treatment.Practice implicationPrior to receiving behavioral parent training (PCIT), parents who have physically abused their children failed to match their parental response to their children's behavior. This pattern of interaction improved rapidly and substantially during the first three sessions of PCIT. The changes in the patterns of interaction also remained relatively stable for the remainder of treatment while parents continued to practice positive parental responses as well as began practicing effective discipline techniques. This suggests that use of immediate parent feedback through coaching, explicit directions to parents in how to respond to child behavior, and customization of the application of skills to the problems that arise in session are important components to effective parenting programs with physically abusive parents. Targeting these behaviors with PCIT has been found to reduce rates of recidivism, further supporting clinical application of PCIT in these cases.     

Relationships among parental beliefs in corporal punishment, reported stress, and physical child abuse potential.

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the extent to which parental belief in the value of corporal punishment moderates the association between level of parenting stress and physical child abuse potential. Based on existing theory, it was expected that levels of parenting stress would be positively associated with physical child abuse potential among parents who reported high levels of belief in the value of corporal punishment. METHOD: Forty-one parents (25 general population and 16 at-risk parents) were assessed for belief in the value of corporal punishment, level of parenting stress, and physical child abuse potential using self-report measures. After removal of respondents due to response distortion or missing data, the final sample consisted of 31 parents with valid and complete protocols. Based on their responses on the study measures, respondents were categorized as either high or low on belief in corporal punishment and parenting stress. RESULTS: Level of parenting stress was positively associated with physical child abuse potential. As expected, the interaction of parenting stress and belief in the value of corporal punishment was significant. Level of parenting stress was positively associated with physical child abuse potential among parents who reported high levels of belief in the value of corporal punishment. In contrast, level of parenting stress was not associated with physical child abuse potential among parents who reported low belief in the value of corporal punishment. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings are consistent social information processing and stress and coping models of the etiology of physical child abuse, and underscore the importance of considering both parental cognitions and levels of parenting stress in assessing potential for physical child abuse.     

Doing injustice to inclusion: a response to John Wilson

In recent years, there has been an increased recognition of the importance of parenting and the way in which parenting programmes can be an effective intervention in changing behaviour and parent–child interactions. The aim of this research, funded by the Department for Education and Skills, was to provide a map of parenting programme provision in England. In phase 1 of the research data were collected through responsible local authority (LA) officers from all LAs in England to explore the different types of parenting programmes available. On the basis of findings from phase 1 of the research, 20 examples of particular types of parenting programmes were selected for more in‐depth study. In phase 2 field‐visits were undertaken to parenting programmes and interviews undertaken with staff. The paper reports the extent to which LAs have access to or provide educationally related parenting programmes in England and the nature of that provision, including infrastructure, organization and funding; the set up of programmes and referral systems; participants and dropouts; types of programmes; programme content and follow‐up; evaluation; staff training; and difficulties experienced in providing such programmes and for parents in accessing them. The findings are discussed in the light of the implementation of Parenting Orders and the operationalization of the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003.     

Parenting in the context of historical childhood trauma: An interpretive meta-synthesis

BackgroundParents with childhood trauma histories are more likely to experience difficulties with child-rearing. The literature often pathologizes the parenting behaviours of parents with abuse histories, meaning strengths sometimes are neglectedObjectiveThis article presents a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies into the parenting experiences of survivors of childhood abuse. This analysis was undertaken to develop awareness of the experiences of this population, with the hope findings would be of use to policy-makers and professionals supporting parents and their children.MethodFollowing a systematic search and process of quality appraisal, 11 papers were subjected to an interpretive meta-synthesis, utilising a meta-ethnographic method.ResultsThree themes were generated. Forming a Parental Identity Through the Lens of Trauma related to how parents and authors of the primary studies tended to interpret all parenting experiences, especially challenges, in terms of the effects of childhood abuse. Protecting Against Cycles of Abuse related to many parents fearing they would be unable to protect children from harm. The Need for Safe Support was concerned with how parents often felt they needed support but experienced this as unsafe.ConclusionsResults pointed to how ambivalence towards professional input should typically be regarded as understandable in the context of lived-experience of abused parents. Professionals should seek to avoid pathologizing parental difficulties and support parents by normalising and making sense of difficult emotional reactions in order to support engagement and promote containing parent-child interactions. Trauma-informed approaches to therapy could usefully be employed by services and agencies working with parents to support children.     

Web-based parenting skills to reduce behavior problems following abusive head trauma: A pilot study

Pediatric abusive head trauma causes significant cognitive and behavioral morbidity, yet very few post-acute interventions exist to facilitate long-term recovery. To meet the needs of this vulnerable population, we piloted a web-based intervention with live coaching designed to improve positive parenting and child behavior. The efficacy of this parenting skills intervention was compared with access to Internet resources on brain injury. Participants included seven families (four randomized to the parenting intervention and three randomized to receive Internet resources). Parenting skills were observed and child behavior was rated at baseline and intervention completion. At completion, parents who received the parenting skills intervention showed significantly more positive parenting behaviors and fewer undesirable behaviors during play than parents who received access to Internet resources. Additionally, during play, children in the parenting skills intervention group were more compliant following parent commands than children in the Internet resources group. Lastly, parents who received the parenting intervention reported less intense oppositional and conduct behavior problems in their children post-intervention than did parents in the Internet resources group. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the use of this web-based positive parenting skills intervention to improve parenting skills and child behavior following abusive head trauma.     

Predictors of foster parents’ stress and associations to sensitivity in the first year after placement

In Germany, almost 70 000 children are living in foster families (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2016). Many foster children show mental health problems as they were exposed to an accumulation of risk factors. Hence, foster parents are often faced with challenging parenting situations. The current study focuses on the predictors of foster parents’ stress and examines longitudinally whether parenting stress is associated with foster parents’ sensitivity. The sample consisted of 55 children (aged from 1 to 6 years) and their foster caregivers. Foster parents’ sensitivity was observed during home visits. Caregiver reports were used to assess parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index) as well as foster children’s externalizing behavior problems (Child Behavior Checklist). For main caregivers’ stress at the beginning of placement, regression analyses revealed both, foster children’s externalizing problems as well as partners’ stress as predictive. For main caregivers’ stress one year after, only initial parenting stress and partners’ stress were predictive. Foster parents’ sensitivity was correlated with their parenting stress one year after placement. Regression analyses revealed no longitudinal effects of initial parenting stress on overall sensitivity. However, supportive presence was predicted by initial supportive presence and by the interaction between parenting stress and children’s externalizing problems at placement. The findings highlight the role of the partner in experiencing parenting stress when taking care of a foster child. Furthermore, they emphasize that foster parents who care for children with behavior problems need adequate support that can buffer initial parenting stress and thereby promote sensitive caregiving.     

Child maltreatment and interpersonal relationship among Chinese children with oppositional defiant disorder

Child maltreatment negatively affects children's development and wellbeing. This study investigated the associations between child maltreatment (i.e., emotional neglect, emotional abuse, and physical abuse) and interpersonal functioning, including parent–child relationship, teacher–student relationship, and peer relationships among children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). A total of 256 children with ODD and their parents and class master teachers from Mainland China completed questionnaires. Results showed a negative correlation between emotional abuse (parent-reported) and children's interpersonal relationships with parents, teachers, and peers. Emotional neglect and physical abuse were related to poor parent–child relationships. Latent profile analysis revealed three profiles of child maltreatment among children with ODD. ODD children with more severe levels of one type of maltreatment were also more likely to have experienced severe levels of other types of maltreatment. Children with ODD who were in the group of high maltreatment had the poorest quality of interpersonal relationships. Our findings highlight the urgent need to prevent child maltreatment and promote more positive parenting in families with ODD children.     

Attachment style as a mediator between childhood maltreatment and the experience of betrayal trauma as an adult

Previous research has demonstrated a positive association between child maltreatment and adult interpersonal trauma (Arata, 2000, Crawford and Wright, 2007). From a betrayal trauma theory perspective, evidence suggests that the experience of trauma high in betrayal (e.g., child maltreatment by parents or guardians) increases ones risk of betrayal trauma as an adult (Gobin & Freyd, 2009). However, the mechanisms explaining these associations are not well understood; attachment theory could provide further insight. Child maltreatment is associated with insecure attachment (Baer and Martinez, 2006, Muller et al., 2000). Insecure attachment is also associated with deficits in interpersonal functioning and risk for intimate partner violence, suggesting insecure attachment may mediate the relationship between child maltreatment and the experience of betrayal trauma as an adult. The current study tested this hypothesis in a sample of 601 college students. Participants completed online questionnaires including the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (CATS), the Experiences in Close Relationships – Revised (ECR-R) and the Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey (BBTS). Results indicated that child maltreatment is associated with adult betrayal trauma and anxious attachment partially mediates this relationship.     

A person-oriented approach to understanding dimensions of parenting in low-income mothers

The purpose of this study was to examine parenting types in a low-income sample from a person-oriented approach. Data were used from a public use data set from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP) along with new extant ratings of parenting behavior from the EHSREP archive of videotaped parent–child observations. Parenting behavior indicators were examined using latent class analysis as a grouping strategy across three time points to characterize this sample of 2631 Early Head Start mothers. Three latent classes of mothers were identified at 14, 24, and 36 months: developmentally supportive (the largest group in this sample), unsupportive, and negative. Predictors of parenting types were also examined and parenting types were linked to child outcomes. The results of these analyses show common characteristics of these distinct types of parents likely to be in Early Head Start programs and may help programs identify which families would most benefit from services to help them increase behaviors to promote their young children's early development.     

Externalizing behaviors of Ukrainian children: The role of parenting

The purpose of this study was to assess the association of positive and negative parenting with child externalizing problems. Quantitative data were collected during face-to-face interviews with 320 parents of children 9–16 years of age (50% males) in 11 communities in Eastern, Southern, and Central Ukraine. The study estimated the relationship between parenting practices and child externalizing behaviors such as aggression, delinquency, and attention problems. Results revealed that positive parenting, child monitoring, and avoidance of corporal punishment were associated with fewer child externalizing symptoms. Results also indicated that child male gender and single parenting had significant and positive association with child externalizing behaviors. This study extends international psychosocial knowledge on children and families. These findings can be used to design programs and foster dialogs about the role of family and social environments in the development of externalizing disorder among researchers, representatives of governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and mass media that work with child abuse prevention in Ukraine.     

Self-reported disciplinary practices among women in the child welfare system: association with domestic violence victimization

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between physical domestic violence victimization (both recent and more than a year in past measured by self-report) and self-reported disciplinary practices among female parents/caregivers in a national sample of families referred to child welfare. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of more than 3,000 female caregivers in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW) study, a nationally representative sample of children and their families referred to child welfare agencies for investigation of abuse and neglect. Women reported physical domestic violence victimization and their disciplinary practices for their child on different versions of the Conflict Tactics Scales. RESULTS: Four hundred and forty-three women reported prior year domestic violence, 1,161 reported domestic violence but not in the past 12 months, and 2,025 reported no domestic violence exposure. Any prior domestic violence exposure was associated with higher rates of self-reported psychological aggression, physical aggression and neglectful disciplinary behaviors as compared to those with no domestic violence victimization in bivariate comparisons. After controlling for child behavior, demographic factors, and maternal characteristics, those with remote and recent domestic violence victimization employed more self-reported psychological aggression, while only caregivers with recent DV reported more physical aggression or neglectful behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: In a national child welfare sample, self-reported aggressive and neglectful parenting behaviors were common. In this sample, domestic violence victimization is associated with more self-reported aggressive and neglectful disciplinary behaviors among female caregivers. The mechanism for these associations is not clear. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Rates of aggressive and neglectful disciplinary practices are especially high among female parents/caregivers exposed to domestic violence. Child welfare agencies should plan routine and structured assessments for domestic violence among parents/caregivers and implement parenting interventions to reduce harmful disciplinary practices for those families identified.     

Transnationalism,parenting, and child disciplinary practices of African immigrants in Alberta,Canada

Child discipline remains a topic of public health interest across the globe. Despite this enduring interest, very little is known about the child disciplinary practices of African immigrants in Canada. This paper explores the disciplinary practices of African immigrant parents in Alberta, a Canadian province with a recent surge in the population of African immigrants. Employing a critical ethnographic methodology, informed by transnational theory, we collected data through in-depth qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of African community leaders (n = 14), African immigrant parents (n = 32), policymakers (n = 2), and health and immigrant settlement workers (n = 10). As members of the African immigrant community, we were deeply immersed in the research settings, which afforded us the opportunity to collect pertinent observational data in the form of reflexive notes. Thematic analysis of the data revealed child disciplinary approaches that incorporate Canadian and African parenting practices, as well as practices that appear somewhat unique to this demographic. We found that African immigrant parents used corporal discipline, persuasive discipline, and a hybrid of the two, as well as emerging practices involving transnational fostering and emotional isolation of children who persistently misbehaved. These practices, in their totality, appeared to be influenced by the transnational experiences of parents and precepts that are traceable to Canada’s legal and educational systems. We present theoretical, policy, and service implications of our findings, including a recommendation to incorporate sociocultural dimensions of child discipline into Canadian child welfare policies and practices.     

Patterns of individual change in a parenting program for child maltreatment and their relation to family and professional environments

In the area of child maltreatment prevention, little is known about the typology of changes that individuals undergo in response to parent-training interventions. In this study, we examined the patterns of change observed in parents immediately after their completion of the Apoyo Personal y Familiar (APF, Personal and Family Support) parenting program. We identified five clusters and classified 496 parents according to two criteria: (a) the amount of pre-post changes (total or partial) as reflected in their self-reports on implicit theories, parental agency and childrearing practices, and (b) the positive, negative or mixed character of these changes. The study also included a follow-up of a subset of 95 participants intended to examine the extent to which the patterns of change identified in the first part of the study might predict the quality of the childrearing environment at home and the successful integration of the APF program into social services structures one year on. In this follow-up study, external evaluators observed families’ home environments and collected the parenting program facilitators’ self-reports on changes to their work environment. The evaluators found higher-quality childrearing environments and more positive appraisals of the changes to the teams’ work with families in those cases where participants had experienced partial or total positive changes as a result of the APF. This approach offers insights into processes of individual change that have practical implications for the successful implementation of parenting programs in child maltreatment prevention services.     

Relational trauma in the context of intimate partner violence

The relational model of trauma (Scheeringa & Zeanah, 2001) proposes that infants’ trauma symptoms may be influenced by their mothers' trauma symptoms and disruptions in caregiving behavior, although the mechanisms by which this occurs are less well understood. In this research, we examined the direct and indirect effects of a traumatic event (maternal intimate partner violence [IPV]), maternal trauma symptoms, and impaired (harsh and neglectful) parenting on infant trauma symptoms in a sample of mother–infant dyads (N = 182) using structural equation modeling. Mothers completed questionnaires on IPV experienced during pregnancy and the child's first year of life, their past-month trauma symptoms, their child's past-month trauma symptoms, and their parenting behaviors. Results indicated that the effects of prenatal IPV on infant trauma symptoms were partially mediated by maternal trauma symptoms, and the relationship between maternal and infant trauma symptoms was fully mediated by neglectful parenting. Postnatal IPV did not affect maternal or infant trauma symptoms. Findings support the application of the relational model to IPV-exposed mother–infant dyads, with regard to IPV experienced during pregnancy, and help identify potential foci of intervention for professionals working with mothers and children.