The impact of physical and economic abuse on maternal mental health and parenting

Abstract

Using the first four waves of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this article examined the long-term impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on maternal depression and parenting. Findings from multivariate logistic regressions demonstrated that economic and psychological abuse at Year 1 had significant effects on the likelihood of mothers experiencing depression and spanking their children at Year 5. Psychological abuse experiences at Year 1 had a significant effect on the level of engagement with their children at Year 5. However, experiences of physical violence at Year 1 did not significantly impact mothers' depression or parenting. In addition, the results indicated that both the level and change of economic abuse increased the odds of mothers experiencing depression at Year 5. Similarly, both the level and change of psychological abuse decreased the odds of mothers engaging with their children at Year 5. Finally, the level of economic and psychological abuse at Year 1 increased the odds of the use of spanking in Year 5. These results suggest that there are long-term effects of economic and psychological abuse on mothers' depression and parenting and that more research is needed to understand the impact of abuse, specifically of economic abuse, among families that are victims of interpersonal violence.