Intimate Partner Violence and School-Aged Children’s Mental Health: Unpacking the Effects of Family Functioning, Mothers’ Mental Health, and Social Capital

Abstract

There is a limited understanding of the pathways through which intimate partner violence (IPV) affects school-aged children’s mental health. This study aims to examine a hypothesized model in which fathers’ perpetration of IPV against mothers affects school-aged children’s mental health through family functions, mothers’ mental health, and social capital. A cross-sectional study was conducted by recruiting 513 mothers from 17 different Primary Health Care centers in Saudi Arabia. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesized model, controlling the family’s financial status. The model accounted for 54.2% of the variance in children’s mental health problems. This study reveals that IPV issue against mothers during the last 12 months influences school-aged children’s mental health directly and indirectly through the current family functioning and mothers’ mental health. The impact of IPV issues on school-aged children’s mental health requires particular consideration. The study findings urge attention to preventing the IPV issue against mothers, as well as improving family functioning and treating mothers’ mental health to protect school-aged children from mental health problems.