The impact of witnessed violence in minors: Attachment, locus of control and psychopathological outcomes

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Lorenza Di Pentima, Alessandro Toni, Grazia Attili
Publishing Year 2021 Issue 2021/2
Language Italian Pages 25 P. 83-107 File size 271 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2021-002006
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Aim of the present study was to explore the impact of witnessed domestic violence by mi-nors in terms of mental health outcomes, attachment bonds and locus of control. The partic-ipants were victims (n = 30) of witnessed violence in the family (average age: 11.58 years, DS = 2.01) compared with a control group (n = 60; average age: 11.03 years, DS = 1.96). The hypotheses verified were the following: 1) victims of witnessed violence in comparison with control group have more frequently an insecure attachment, assessed by the Separation Anxiety Test (Attili, 2001); 2) victims of witnessed violence reveal a more severe psychopathological structure, assessed by the Psychiatric Scales of Self-Administration for Children and Adolescents (Cianchetti & Sannio Fancello, 2001); 3) victims of witnessed vio-lence have a more external locus of control, assessed by the Nowicki-Strickland Scale (1973). The results show that children, witnesses of violence in the family, compared to the control group, are more insecure; in particular, they are avoidant and ambivalent. They show a symp-tomatic structure that includes the dimensions of Anxiety, Depression, Eating Disorders and Somatization. Finally, they reveal the presence of higher levels of external locus of control.

Keywords: witnessed violence; attachment; psychopathological outcomes; locus of control; children.

  1. Attili, G. (2001). Ansia da separazione e misura dell’attaccamento normale e patologico. Versione modificata e adattamento italiano del Separation Anxiety Test (SAT) di Klagsbrun e Bowlby. Milano: Edizioni Unicopli.
  2. Attili, G., Di Pentima, L., & Toni, A. (2013). Abuso, trascuratezza e il controllo degli eventi: Il paradosso dell’attaccamento. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 15(3), 89-108. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2013-003005
  3. Attili, G., Di Pentima, L., Toni, A., & Roazzi, A. (2016). Reazioni dei genitori in situazioni problematiche e attribuzioni di causa: le aspettative dei bambini maltrattati. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 1, 37-50. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2016-001005
  4. Bancroft, L., & Silverman, J. (2002). The batterer as a parent. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
  5. Bancroft, L., Silverman, J., & Ritchie, D. (2012). The batterer as parent: Addressing the impact of domestic violence on family dynamics. Los Angeles: Sage.
  6. Boeckel, M.G., Blasco-Ros, C., Grassi-Oliveira, R., & Martínez, M. (2014). Child abuse in the context of intimate partner violence against women: The impact of women’s depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms on maternal behavior. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29(7), 1201-1227. DOI: 10.1177/0886260513506275
  7. Breiding, M., Basile, K. C., Smith, S. G., Black, M. C., & Mahendra, R. R. (2015). Intimate partner violence surveillance: Uniform definitions and recommended data elements. Version 2.0. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  8. Brumariu, L. E., & Kerns, K. A. (2010). Parent-child attachment and internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence: A review of empirical findings and future directions. Developmental Psychopathology, 22(1), 177-203. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579409990344
  9. Buchbinder, E. (2004). Motherhood of battered women: The struggle for repairing the past. Clinical Social Work Journal, 23(3), 307-326.
  10. Buckner, J., Beardslee, W., & Bassuk, E. (2004). Exposure to violence and low-income children’s mental health: Direct, moderated, and mediated relations. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 74, 413-423. DOI: 10.1037/0002-9432.74.4.413
  11. Camisasca, E. (2009). Traiettorie di internalizzazione ed esternalizzazione in bambini maltrattati: Il ruolo dell’attaccamento. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 11(3), 65-82. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2009-003007
  12. Camisasca, E., Miragoli, S., & Di Blasio, P. (2016). Conflittualità genitoriale e sintomatologia da stress post-traumatico nei figli: Uno studio esplorativo. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 18(2), 139-149. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2016-002008
  13. Camisasca, E., Miragoli, S., & Di Blasio, P. (2014). La disorganizzazione dell’attaccamento spiega i sintomi post-traumatici nei bambini vittime di violenza intrafamiliare? Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 16(2), 35-55. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2014-002003
  14. Chan, Y., & Yeung, J.W. (2009). Children living with violence within family and its sequel: A meta-analysis from 1995-2006. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 313-322.
  15. Cianchetti, C., & Sannio Fancello, G. (2001). SAFA: Scale psichiatriche di autosomministrazione per fanciulli e adolescenti. Firenze: Organizzazioni Speciali.
  16. Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., & Toth, S. L. (2006). Fostering secure attachment in infants in maltreating families through prevention interventions. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 623-649.
  17. CISMAI (Coordinamento Italiano dei Servizi contro il Maltrattamento e l’Abuso all’Infanzia) (2000). Commissione Scientifica Violenza Assistita. Il Raccordo, 6.
  18. Coohey, C. (2004). Battered mothers who physically abuse their children. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 9(8), 943-952.
  19. Crittenden, P. M. (1985). Maltreated infants: Vulnerability and resilience. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 26, 85-96.
  20. Crittenden, P. M. (1992). Children’s strategies for coping with adverse home environments: An interpretation using attachment theory. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 329-343. DOI: 10.1016/0145-2134(92)90043-Q
  21. Di Pentima, L., Toni, A., & Attili, G. (2019). Attaccamento, locus of control e quadri sintomatologici: Differenze per genere ed età in infanzia e adolescenza. Ricerche di Psicologia, 42(2), 251-283. DOI: 10.3280/RIP2019-002003
  22. Di Pentima, L., Toni, A., Schneider, B. H., Tomàs, J. M., Oliver, A., & Attili, G. (2019). Locus of control as a mediator of the association between attachment and children's mental health. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, Research and Theory on Human Development. DOI: 10.1080/00221325.2019.1652557
  23. Dong, M., Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Dube, S. R., Williamson, D. F., Thompson, T. J., Loo, C. M., & Giles, W. H. (2004). The interrelatedness of multiple forms of childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28(7), 771-784.
  24. Ehrensaft, M. K., Knous-Westfall, H., & Cohen, P. (2017). Long-term influence of intimate partner violence and parenting practices on offspring trauma symptoms. Psychology of Violence,7(2), 296-305.
  25. El-Sheikh, M., & Elmore-Staton, L. (2004). The link between marital conflict and child adjustment: Parent– child conflict and perceived attachments as mediators, potentiators, and mitigators of risk. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 631-648. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579404004705
  26. El-Sheikh, M., Cummings, E. M., Kouros, C. D., Elmore-Staton, L., & Buckhalt, J. (2008). Marital psychological and physical aggression and children’s mental and physical health: Direct, mediated, and moderated effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 138-148. DOI: 10.1037/0022-006X.76.1.138
  27. Forke, C. M., Catallozzi, M., Localio, A. R., Grisso, J. A., Wiebe, D. J., & Fein, J. A. (2019). Intergenerational effects of witnessing domestic violence: Health of the witnesses and their children. Preventive Medicine Reports, 15, 1-9.
  28. Foster, J., Kuperminc, G., & Price, A. (2004). Gender differences in posttraumatic stress and related symptoms among inner-city minority youth exposed to community violence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 59-69. DOI: 10.1023/A:1027386430859
  29. Gartland, D., Giallo, R., Woolhouse, H., Mensah, F., & Brown, S. J. (2019). Intergenerational impacts of family violence mothers and children in a large prospective pregnancy cohort study. EClinical Medicine, 15, 51-61.
  30. Godbout, N., Dutton, D.G., Lussier, Y., & Sabourin, S. (2009). Early exposure to violence, domestic violence, attachment representations, and marital adjustment. Personal Relationships, 16, 365-384.
  31. Gover, A.R., Kaukinen, C., & Fox, K.A. (2008). The relationship between violence in the family of origin and dating violence among college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(12), 1667-1693. DOI: 10.1177/0886260508314330
  32. Graham-Bermann, S. A., & Perkins, S. (2010). Effects of early exposure and lifetime exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) on child adjustment. Violence and Victims, 25, 427-439. DOI: 10.1891/0886-6708.25.4.427
  33. Graham-Bermann, S. A., Howell, K. H., Miller, L. E., Kwek, J., & Lilly, M. M. (2010). Traumatic events and maternal education as predictors of verbal ability for preschool children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV). Journal of Family Violence, 25, 383-392.
  34. Groh, A. M., Roisman, G. I., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Pasco Fearon, R. M. (2012). The significance of insecure and disorganized attachment for children’s internalizing symptoms: A meta-analytic study. Child Development, 83, 591-610.
  35. Groh, A. M., Pasco Fearon, R. M., van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Roisman, G. I. (2017). Attachment in the early life course: Meta-analytic evidence for its role in socioemotional development. Child Development Perspectives, 11(1), 70-76.
  36. Hamby, S., Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., & Ormrod, R. (2010). The overlap of witnessing partner violence with child maltreatment and other victimizations in a nationally representative survey of youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34(10), 734-741.
  37. Hanson, R. F., Borntrager, C., Self-Brown, S., Kilpatrick, D. G., Saunders, B. E., Resnick, H. S., & Amstadter, A. (2008). Relations among gender, violence exposure, and mental health: The National Survey of Adolescents. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 78(3), 313-321.
  38. Johnson, R. M., Kotch, J. B., Catellier, D. J., Winsor, J. R., Dufort, V., Hunter, W., & Amaya-Jackson, A. (2002). Adverse behavioral and emotional outcomes from child abuse and witnessed violence. Child Maltreatment, 7(3), 179-186.
  39. Johnson, V. K., & Lieberman, A. F. (2007). Variations in behavior problems of preschoolers exposed to domestic violence: The role of mothers’ attunement to children’s emotional experiences. Journal of Family Violence, 22, 297-308.
  40. Jouriles, E. N., McDonald, R., Vu, N. L., & Sargent, K. S. (2016). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence: Should sexual coercion be considered? Journal of Family Psychology, 30(4), 503-508.
  41. Kellog, N. D., & Manard, S. W. (2003). Violence among family members of children and adolescents evaluated for sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 1367-1376.
  42. Kennedy, A., Bybee, D., Sullivan, C., & Greeson, M. (2009). The effects of community and family violence exposure on anxiety trajectories during middle childhood: The role of family social support as a moderator. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38(3), 365-379. DOI: 10.1080/15374410902851713
  43. Kennedy, A., Bybee, D., Sullivan, C., & Greeson, M. (2010). The impact of family and community violence on children’s depression trajectories: Examining the interactions of violence exposure, family social support, and gender. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 197-207.
  44. Kiel, E. J., & Buss, K. A. (2011). Prospective relations among fearful temperament, protective parenting and social withdrawal: The role of maternal accuracy in a moderated mediation framework. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 953-966.
  45. Kirby, E., & Grimley, L. (1989). Disturbi dell’attenzione e iperattività. Trento: Erickson.
  46. Klagsbrun, M., & Bowlby, J. (1976), Responses to separation from parents: A clinical test for young children. Projective Psychology, 21, 7-27.
  47. Levendosky, A. A., Hurt-Bocks, A. C., & Semel, M. A. (2002). Adolescent peer relationships and mental health functioning in families with domestic violence. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 31(2), 206-218. DOI: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3102_06
  48. Levendosky, A. A., Hurt-Bocks, A. C., Shapiro, D. L., & Semel, M. A. (2003). The impact of domestic violence on the maternal-child relationship and preschool-age children’s functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 17(3), 275-287. DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.17.3.275
  49. Luebbe, A. M., Kiel, E. J., & Buss, K. A. (2011). Toddlers’ context-varying emotions, maternal responses to emotions and internalizing behaviors. Emotion, 11, 697-703.
  50. Margolin, G., Gordis, E. B., Medina, A. M., & Oliver, P. H. (2003). The co-occurrence of husband-to-wife aggression, family-of-origin aggression, and child abuse potential in a community sample: Implications for parenting. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(4), 413-440.
  51. Martin, S. G. (2002). Children exposed to domestic violence: Psychological considerations for health care practitioners. Holistic Nursing Practice, 16(3), 205-218.
  52. McGee, C. (2000). Childhood experiences of domestic violence. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  53. McIntosh, J. E. (2002). Thought in the face of violence: A child’s need. Child Abuse and Neglect, 26, 229-241. DOI: 10.1016/S0145-2134(01)00321-0
  54. Miller, L. E. (2015). Perceived threat in childhood: A review of research and implications for children living in violent households. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 16, 153-168. DOI: 10.1177/1524838013517563
  55. Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., Myers, S. S., & Robinson, L. R. (2007). The role of the family context in the development of emotion regulation. Social Development, 16, 361-388.
  56. Moss, E., & Lecompte, V. (2015). Attachment and socioemotional problems in middle childhood. In G. Bosmans & K.A. Kerns (Eds.), Attachment in middle childhood: Theoretical advances and new directions in an emerging field. New directions for child and adolescent development, 148, 63-76.
  57. Moss, E., Dubois-Comtois, K., Cyr, C., St-Laurent, D., Tarabulsy, G. M., Bernier, A., & Larin, S. (2007). Can caregiving behavior of maltreating mothers be changed? In C. George & J. Solomon (Eds.), Symposium presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.
  58. Mrug, S., & Windle, M. (2010). Prospective effects of violence exposure across multiple contexts on early adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 51(8), 953.
  59. Mueller, I., & Tronick, E. (2019). Early life exposure to violence: Developmental consequences on brain and behavior. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 13, 1-7.
  60. Mullender, A., Hague, G., Iman, U., Kelly, L., Malos, E., & Regan, L. (2002). Children’s perspectives on domestic violence. London: Sage.
  61. Müller, M., Zietlow, A.-L., Tronick, E., & Reck, C. (2015). What dyadic reparation is meant to do: An association with infant cortisol reactivity. Psychopathology, 48, 386-399. DOI: 10.1159/000439225
  62. Nelson, C. A., & Bosquet, M. (2004). Neurobiology of fetal and infant development: Implications for infant mental health. In C. H. Zeanah Jr. (Ed.), Handbook of Infant Mental Health (pp. 37-59). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
  63. Nowicki, S., & Strickland, B.R. (1973). A locus of control scale for children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 40, 148-154.
  64. Pennell, J., Sanders, T., Rikard, R. V., Shepherd, J., & Starsoneck, L. (2013). Family violence, fathers, and restoring personhood. Restorative Justice: An International Journal, 1(2), 268-289. DOI: 10.5235/20504721.1.2.268
  65. Pingley, T. (2017). The impact of witnessing domestic violence on children: A systematic review. Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers (Disponibile online: https://sophia.stkate.edu/msw.papers/776).
  66. Roazzi, A., Attili, G., Di Pentima, L., & Toni, A. (2016). Locus of control in maltreated children: The impact of attachment and cumulative trauma. Psicologia: Reflexao e Critica, 29(8), 1-29.
  67. Rotter, J.B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monograph, 80, 1-28.
  68. Russell, D., Springer, K. W., & Greenfield, E. A. (2010). Witnessing domestic abuse in childhood as an independent risk factor for depressive symptoms in young adulthood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34(6), 448-453.
  69. Saltzman, K. M., Holden, G. W., & Holahan, C. J. (2005). The psychobiology of children exposed to marital violence. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34,129-139.
  70. Sims, B. E., Hans, S. L., & Cox, S. M. (1996). Raising children in high-risk environments: Mothers’ experience of stress and distress related to attachment security. Infant Behavior and Development, 19, 743.
  71. Spilsbury, J. C., Belliston, L., Drotar, D., Drinkard, A., Kretschmar, J., Creeden, R., … & Friedman, S. (2007). Clinically significant trauma symptoms and behavioral problems in a community-based sample of children exposed to domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 22(6), 487-499.
  72. Teicher, M. H., Samson, J. A., & Polcari, A. (2006). Sticks, stones, and hurtful words: Relative effects of various forms of childhood maltreatment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(6), 993-1000.
  73. Tronick, E. (2017). The caregiver-infant dyad as a buffer or transducer of resource enhancing or depleting factors that shape psychobiological. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 38, 561-572.
  74. Venet, M., Bureau, J., Gosselin, C., & Capuano, F. (2007). Attachment representations in a sample of neglected preschool-age children. School Psychology International, 28(3), 264-293. DOI: 10.1177/014303430707853
  75. Zeanah, C. H., & Gleason, M. M. (2015). Annual research review: Attachment disorders in early childhood-clinical presentation, causes, correlates and treatment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56, 207-222.
  76. Zeanah, C. H., Danis, B., Hirshberg, L., Benoit, D., Miller, D., & Scott Heller, S. (1999). Disorganized attachment associated with partner violence: A research note. Infant Mental Health Journal, 20, 77-86.
  77. Zilberstein, K., (2014). The use and limitations of attachment theory in child psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 51(1), 93-103.

Lorenza Di Pentima, Alessandro Toni, Grazia Attili, L’impatto della violenza assistita sui minori: attaccamento, locus of control ed esiti psicopatologici in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 2/2021, pp 83-107, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2021-002006