The role of interpersonal violence and personality characteristics on parenting outcomes Johanna C. Malone, Ed.M., Alytia A. Levendosky, Ph.D., G. Anne Bogat, Ph.D.,

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The Role of Intimate Partner Violence and
Personality Characteristics on Parenting
Behaviors Johanna C. Malone, Ed.M., M.A.,
Carolyn Joy Dayton, M.S.W., M.A., Alytia A.
Levendosky, Ph.D.Michigan State University

• INTRODUCTION
• Parenting and Intimate Partner Violence
• Intimate partner violence (IPV defined here as
  male violence against a female partner), can
  impact a mothers ability to provide sensitive
  parenting to her children (McCloskey et al.,
  1995 Levendosky et al., 2001) and is associated
  with less consistent parenting behaviors (Holden
  Richie, 1991, Rossman Rea, 2005).
• However, empirical findings within this body of
  literature have been mixed and some findings have
  suggested that some women are able to parent
  effectively even in the presence of IPV (Holden
  et al., 1998 Levendosky et al., 2000 Sullivan
  et al., 19997.)
• Previous research indicates that other factors
  associated with IPV may account for abused
  mothers feeling less effective as parents. These
  include mood and trauma symptoms, higher
  parenting stress, and lower emotional
  availability (Holden et al., 1991 1998
  Levendosky et al., 1998 2003, Owen et al.,
  2006).
• In addition, factors such as social support,
  higher education, and high self-esteem provide
  women exposed to IPV with internal and external
  resources that allow them to still show
  effective, consistent, and warm parenting.
• Parenting and Personality
• Previous research suggests a relationship between
  personality and parenting behaviors. Metsapelto
  Pulkkinen (2003) found that Openness to new
  experiences, low Neuroticism, and Extraversion
  were related to higher levels of parental
  nurturance. They also found that low Openness was
  related to more restrictive parenting behaviors.
• Some research has demonstrated that other factors
  interact with personality to determine parenting
  behavior. For example, using methodology from the
  field of developmental psychopathology, Clark and
  colleagues (2000) found that child
  characteristics such as temperament interact with
  maternal personality factors to affect parenting
  behaviors. Belsky and colleagues (1995) found
  evidence suggesting that maternal experiences of
  daily hassles and transient mood mediate the
  relationship between personality and parenting.
• Thus, the relationship between personality and
  parenting have been shown to be influenced by
  other factors including child factors, effects of
  other maternal factors, and sources of maternal
  stress or support.
• IPV as a Moderator of Personality and Parenting
• This study examined the relationship between
  personality characteristics and parenting styles
  in women based on their experiences of IPV. We
  expected that IPV would moderate the relationship
  between personality and parenting style such that
  personality characteristics would be most related
  to parenting behaviors when women were victims of
  IPV.
• When exposed to IPV, we expected that mothers
  would be left with fewer resources to parent
  effectively and, as a result, personality
  characteristics would become more influential in
  determining parenting behaviors for these
  victimized women.
• This is consistent with research that has shown
  that IPV can have a negative effect on a womans
  ability to parent (Levendosky et al., 2000).
  Given an average, expectable, environment, most
  parents are able to parent in a manner which
  provides warmth and sensitivity to their
  children. Thus, variations in personality styles
  are not expected to impact parenting in
  significant ways in the absence of other risk
  factors.

• RESULTS
• A series of multiple regressions were conducted
  in order to determine the degree to which the
  personality traits of neuroticism, extroversion,
  agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness
  predicted the three identified parenting
  behaviors (i.e., positive parenting, covert
  hostility, and controlling parenting).
• Analyses were run separately for women who
  experienced IPV and women who did not experience
  IPV in order to assess for IPV as a moderator of
  personality and parenting. Figure 1 illustrates
  the mean factor score for each type of parenting
  based on womens exposure to IPV.
• No IPV. The three models for each type of
  parenting including all of the personality
  predictor variables yielded non-significant
  results for women who did not experience IPV.
• IPV. The significant results for the three
  models including all of the personality predictor
  variables for women who experienced IPV are
  presented below.
• Positive Parenting This model resulted in a R2
  .18, F(5,61) 2.62 , MSE .71, plt.05. The
  standardized regression coefficient for the
  personality predictors were for neuroticism ß
  .43, t(61) 2.83, plt.01 and for agreeableness ß
  .32, t(61) 2.29, plt.05.
• Controlling Parenting This model resulted in a
  R2 .21, F(5,61) 3.26, MSE 1.77, plt.05. The
  standardized regression coefficient for the
  personality predictors were for openness ß
  -.25, t(61) -2.08, plt.05, for agreeableness ß
  -.30, t(61) -2.20, plt.05, and for
  conscientiousness ß .44, t(61) 2.96, plt.01.

METHODS Participants The current study utilized
data collected as part of a larger longitudinal
project, the Mother Infant Study (Levendosky,
Bogat, von Eye, Davidson), that examines the
effects of IPV on women and their children. The
present study uses data collected during the
first, third, and fifth waves of data collection.

• Measures
• Mother Child Interaction Data
• Women and their children were videotaped during a
  10-minute, unstructured, free-play segment of a
  laboratory session when the child was one year of
  age.
• 4 behavioral and 2 affective domains of maternal
  interactive behavior were coded Sensitivity,
  Engagement, Interfering Manipulation, Covert
  Hostility, Warmth Joy (adapted from Ainsworth
  (1971, 1974, 1978) Lyons-Ruth (1983) and
  Crittenden (1981).
• An exploratory factor analysis using varimax
  rotation was conducted on the dependent variable
  yielding 3 primary factors 1) Positive
  Parenting, 2) Hostile Parenting and 3)
  Controlling Parenting
• Severity of Violence Against Women Scales (SVAWS
  Marshall, 1992).
• 46-item self-report questionnaire that assesses
  the amount of violence present
• IPV was coded dichotomously (present or absent)
  based on endorsement of any of the mild to severe
  abuse items (items 9 46) during pregnancy or in
  the infants first year of life.
• NE0 Five Factor Inventory Form S (Costa McRae)
• 60-item personality inventory that yields 5
  factors Extroversion, Agreeableness, Openness to
  Experience, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness.
• Participants rate how true a statement is for
  them on a 5-pt, Likert scale ranging from
  strongly agree to strongly disagree.
• This data was collected when the child was three
  years of age.

• CONCLUSION
• The personality characteristics of women who were
  not experiencing IPV were unrelated to parenting
  behavior. This is consistent with our hypothesis
  that personality characteristics most influence
  parenting when mothers are faced with a trauma
  that depletes their available resources.
• Women experiencing IPV were more likely to
  demonstrate positive parenting if they scored
  higher on the personality constructs of
  neuroticism and agreeableness. Neuroticism is
  usually not considered a strength but perhaps in
  the context of IPV neurotic tendencies (e.g.,
  higher anxiety) may increase the likelihood that
  women put more effort into parenting. Higher
  agreeableness is associated with warmth, trust,
  straight-forwardness that is consistent with the
  common conception of positive parenting.
• Women experiencing IPV were more likely to have a
  controlling (less sensitive) parenting style if
  they scored lower on the constructs of openness,
  agreeableness, and higher on conscientiousness.
  Higher conscientiousness is demonstrated by
  self-discipline and a value for order and being
  efficient. When faced with IPV, women who are
  high on conscientiousness may become more
  controlling of their children. In the face of
  IPV, controlling parental behavior may also
  become more likely when mothers personalities
  are less imaginative and warm due to the external
  stress.
• These findings suggest that personality style is
  more influential on parenting behaviors when
  there is simultaneous exposure to the trauma of
  IPV and that particular personality constructs
  function as risk or resilience factors impacting
  the parenting behaviors of women experiencing
  IPV.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was funded in part
by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control
(RO1/CCR518519-01)