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Maternal Acceptance of Children’s Negative Emotions Among Spanish-Speaking Latinas Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence

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Abstract

Objectives

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant social concern, with high prevalence rates among Latinas and resulting serious negative outcomes, including parenting difficulties. Parenting following exposure to IPV is paramount as IPV can be frightening to children as well as disruptive to their development of emotional and self-regulation abilities. In fact, prior research has found that parents who are accepting of the expression of negative emotion in children may be able to protect them against some of the harmful effects of IPV. However, little is known about the way in which IPV-exposed Latina mothers approach their children’s negative emotions. The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with maternal acceptance of children’s negative emotions in IPV-exposed Spanish-speaking Latinas.

Methods

This study examined predictors of Latinas’ acceptance of their children’s negative emotion, including the amount of IPV experienced, depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms, and demographic factors.

Results

Results revealed that depressive symptoms were associated with lower levels of maternal emotion acceptance while maternal employment and domestic violence shelter use were associated with greater maternal acceptance of children’s negative emotions.

Conclusions

Finding suggest that there are potentially modifiable factors that may be associated with levels of acceptance of child negative emotions among Spanish-speaking Latinas who have experienced IPV. The limitations and implications of the findings are discussed.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Office of the Provost, University of Michigan, Global Challenges for a Third Century grant. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the granting agency.

Authors’ Contributions

SFS: conceptualized the study, conducted the data analyses, and wrote the paper. EH: collaborated with the writing of the study, and editing of the final manuscript. SGB: collaborated with the design and writing of the study, and editing of the final manuscript. MG: collaborated with the writing of the study, and editing of the final manuscript. HC: collaborated with the writing of the study, and editing of the final manuscript. AGK: collaborated with the writing of the study, and editing of the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sara F. Stein & Sandra A. Graham-Bermann

  2. School of Social Work, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sara F. Stein & Andrew C. Grogan-Kaylor

  3. Mary A. Rackham Institute, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Erin C. Hunter

  4. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA

    Maria M. Galano

  5. Ascend Consultation in Health Care—Urbana, Urbana, IL, USA

    Hannah M. Clark

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  1. Sara F. Stein
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Correspondence to Sara F. Stein.

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Stein, S.F., Hunter, E.C., Graham-Bermann, S.A. et al. Maternal Acceptance of Children’s Negative Emotions Among Spanish-Speaking Latinas Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence. J Child Fam Stud 29, 1326–1335 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01554-x

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