Intimate Partner Violence Victimization, Maternal Child Maltreatment, and the Mediating Impact of Changes in Family Structure

To examine the mediating effect of family structure in the relationship between paternal Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and maternal child maltreatment. The method was quantitative analysis of secondary data. Changes in family structure fully mediated the relationship between IPV victimization and maternal child physical abuse (Δ = .069) and partially mediated the impact of IPV on maternal child psychological abuse (Δ = .051). Households wherein IPV occurs are not only unsafe for children because of potential abuse by the perpetrators, they also create dynamics that increase the risk of child maltreatment by the IPV victim. Treating only substance abuse or managing only child maltreatment may be insufficient if these issues are the direct or indirect result of domestic violence. Programs that integrate services are urgently necessary to address the overlap of child abuse and domestic violence. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.