Research Project
10370056
PROJECT SUMMARY Early-life exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is a risk factor for later violence perpetration and victimization. Maladaptive mental health outcomes that arise as a result of IPV exposure are a large driver of this relationship. Yet, there are still major gaps in knowledge about how modifiable processes link IPV exposure with these outcomes. Better understanding this relationship will lead to more effective interventions for young, IPV-exposed children, which may subsequently prevent future self-directed violence, youth violence, and teen dating violence among US youth. The proposed Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award will train the candidate in conducting community-based research on how modifiable parent processes contribute to IPV-exposed children?s mental health outcomes and physiological dysregulation. The candidate?s current skill set includes intervention adaptation and evaluation, the assessment of violence-related psychopathology, and multivariate statistics and longitudinal modeling. Through the current award, the candidate seeks advanced training in: 1) physiological assessment of stress responses in violence-exposed young children, 2) community-based research methods, and 3) dyadic data analysis. The candidate?s mentoring team: Levendosky, Perry-Jenkins, Deater-Deckard, Karatsoreos, Meyer, Powers, and Laws, provide expertise in: assessing IPV and its effects; neuroendocrine and immune system stress responses; community-based research methods; and dyadic family process and data analysis. The long-term goal of this training is to develop a translational program of research aimed at reducing lifetime violence exposure by more effectively ameliorating the negative effects of early-life IPV exposure. The proposed study will examine how caregiver communication (direct and indirect) about trauma, danger, and fear ? termed, trauma socialization ? relates to young children?s adjustment and physiological dysregulation in the context of IPV. Children ages 4-5 years (N = 125) with a history of early-life IPV exposure will be recruited from the diverse city of Springfield, MA and the surrounding metropolitan region. Trauma socialization will be assessed using a novel storytelling task that has caregivers and children read a book that deals with themes related to child trauma and fear. Caregiver behavior, affect, and verbalizations will be coded to assess the extent to which trauma socialization is regulated or dysregulated. Child mental health and physiological dysregulation will then be assessed via established methods. The proposed study is designed to focus on a novel, trauma- specific parenting process, and ultimately identify potential mechanisms by which IPV exposure leads to adaptive or maladaptive adjustment to prompt novel violence prevention strategies.
