Effects of Domestic Violence Against Women on Their Children

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress of mothers who suffered intimate partner violence (IPV) as predictors of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and internalizing and externalizing problems of their children. The study was performed with 30 women and their children (43), housed in a shelter in the south of Brazil. Mothers answered a questionnaire about sociodemographic data; the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) about the data of her children aged from 6 to 10 years; and the BDI-II, PCL-C, and BAI for the mothers. It was applied the youth self-report (YSR) for adolescent sons aged 11 to 18 years. The data were analyzed using simple linear regression. The women presented high levels of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety, and their children had 23.3% of clinical and 25.6% borderline cases according to the total problem scale of CBCL/YSR. The association of anxiety and depression of the mothers with the symptoms indicated by the CBCL/YSR was observed. The impact of IPV on children has little visibility, and the data demonstrate the urgent need to provide interventions in the service network in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention to women victims of IPV and their children.