The effects of maternal trauma on emotion regulation in children: A study of mothers and children who have experienced domestic violence and homelessness
Item
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Title
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The effects of maternal trauma on emotion regulation in children: A study of mothers and children who have experienced domestic violence and homelessness
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:90fe9d8945fd:11462
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identifier
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11843
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Creator
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Yasai, Mougeh R.,
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Contributor
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Peter Fraenkel
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Date
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2012
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Clinical psychology
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Abstract
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This study hypothesizes that in a sample of mothers who have experienced domestic violence and who as a group frequently experience one or more symptoms of PTSD, those who have lower levels of PTSD symptomatology will rate their children as having stronger emotion regulation skills, will intervene less often to regulate or calm emotions (restricting inappropriate behavior; controlling tantrums), and will have children who exhibit fewer behavior problems. The study uses pre-intervention archival data from a subset of a larger study, Family Support from Welfare to Work: Investigation of the Individual and Family Characteristics Associated with Engagement with Work and Evaluation of a Family Based Support Program, which examines the relationship of variables affecting psychological functioning in parents and children who have experienced domestic violence (DV) and who are living in a shelter for homeless families. The current study sample consists of thirty-five mother-child pairs (children ages 8-16) who are low-income, predominately African-American or Latino and who reside in a domestic violence shelter. Shortly after entering the shelter, mothers completed questionnaires about their trauma symptoms and their child's ER and behavior. Children also completed a questionnaire about their own self-reported ER.;Regression Analyses confirmed the study hypothesis that in this sample of mothers and children residing in a domestic violence shelter, there was a significant relationship between maternal PTSD symptoms and mothers' reports of greater emotional and behavioral problems in their children. As hypothesized, maternal PTSD predicted a significant discrepancy in ratings between mother's ER and child self-report of their ER. Finally, maternal PTSD was significantly associated with lower levels of expressed sad emotion.;The present study demonstrates how maternal trauma impacts emotion regulation processes among a sample of mothers and children who have experienced domestic violence and are homeless. The study found that mothers who have lower levels of trauma symptomology are more in sync with their children's emotional state, and have children with fewer problem behaviors, and who have more developed ER skills. These findings point to the importance of designing clinical interventions that promote the development of healthy ER skills to help mothers and children cope with the multitude of distressing emotions that they might encounter. Given the many cumulative stressors and challenges that at-risk populations such as this one face, the transmission of healthy ER from mother-child can serve as a mutually enhancing and resilience building process.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
