A key developmental task of early childhood is the capacity to self-regulate which underpins social skills and cognitive functioning and the management of complex social situations. Failure to develop these skills can result in conduct and behavioural difficulties, poor academic achievement and difficulty managing potentially threatening situations in childhood. Development of self-regulation skills also coincides with peak rates of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) with 70-80% of incidents occurring in the first year of the child’s life and at least 1 incident reported during pregnancy. Witnessing violence to a mother is compounded by the disruption of a nurturing and stable home with mothers struggling to offer consistent and sensitive care. While the connection between exposure to IPV and developmental consequences is unequivocal, the mediating pathway had not previously been explicated.
Exploring the Pathway
Researchers Zang et al (2025) addressed this question using longitudinal data from 4338 participants in the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4338). It aimed to explicate ‘the potential mediating role of parenting stress and maternal warmth in the association between maternal IPV experience and children’s self-regulation.’ Mothers self-reported on IPV experiences, parenting stress, and warmth, while their 5-year-old children’s self-regulation capacity was assessed using two measures.
And the Results?
The study supported previous work which demonstrated that exposure to IPV in infancy ‘has a profound, long-term effect on children’s self-regulation at age 5.’ Additionally, results showed that this outcome is powerfully mediated by mothers’ experiences of parenting stress and variations in maternal warmth.
What are the Implications for Practitioners?
This is a stark reminder that the relational world we live in from our earliest days has a profound and lasting impact on our future. If we are unfortunate enough to be born into a world of physical and psychological violence, we can only hope that our mother has the support and resources to manage her stress with warmth and protection.
It is also a reminder to practitioners to look beyond the individual child who is disruptive and challenging and ask confronting questions about the family. This may lead to uncomfortable disclosures about past and potentially ongoing violence and abuse and redirect attention from inside a child to their parents. It requires us to have clear understanding and protocols to manage current or past dangers and the consequences of confronting them. There is no question that it is safer and easier for the focus to remain on the child and locate the difficulties inside them, however, the research is clear that this is not the best or only place to look and to fail to explore the family is unjust to all parties.
Zhang, Y., Liu, Q., & Wang, X. (2025). Understanding the link between intimate partner violence exposure and children’s self-regulation: The mediating role of parenting stress and warmth. Family Process, 64(1), e13054. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.13054
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