Marital violence and coparenting quality after separation.
Open accessAbstract
Research has identified multiple predictors of coparenting quality, but few studies have investigated how intimate partner violence (IPV) affects divorcing couples' coparenting relationships. We addressed this question in a sample of 154 mothers with different marital IPV experiences. Mothers were recruited within 4 months of a divorce filing and completed two interviews 3 months apart. At Time 1, mothers reported on violence and coercive control during marriage, and postseparation behavioral (e.g., parental communication), emotional (e.g., anger), and intrusion (e.g., harassment) dynamics; at Time 2, they reported on coparenting quality (i.e., levels of support and conflict). In the overall sample, divorce and violence variables independently predicted coparenting quality. Mothers were then classified into three groups: no violence (NV; n = 74), situational couple violence (SCV; n = 46), or coercive controlling violence (CCV; n = 34). Of the 3, coparenting quality was lowest in the CCV group. While the SCV group was similar to the NV group on most divorce-related variables, the CCV group reported more hostility at separation and placed less importance on father-child relationships. Finally, patterns of association between study variables and coparenting quality showed some parallels between the SCV and NV groups. For CCV, postseparation harassment and fear were negatively associated with coparenting quality. Findings contribute to understanding predictors of coparenting quality and support the need for individualized assessments of divorce cases with attention to IPV dynamics.
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All seven longitudinal articles highlighted a need to intervene early when IPV is present to lessen the likelihood of more severe forms of violence occurring.
“All seven of the articles highlighted a need to intervene early when IPV is present to lessen the likelihood of more severe forms of violence occurring (Hardesty et al., 2016;Kuijpers et al., 2012;Lohman et al., 2013;Panuzio & DiLillo, 2010;Stylianou et al., 2013;Sunday et al., 2011;Wyatt et al., 2000).”
From The relationship between emotional intimate partner violence and other forms of violence: A metaanalytic review. (2024) · cites this paper as Hardesty et al., 2016
The Discussion (page unavailable in our copy) calls for individualized assessments of IPV and postseparation risks, and describes the study as examining mothers early in the divorce process. It does not say that early intervention makes more severe forms of violence less likely. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredFive studies found that conflict or IPV identified early on in relationships was related to revictimization or escalating violence.
“Five studies found that conflict or IPV identified early on in relationships was related to revictimization or escalating violence (Hardesty et al., 2016;Kuijpers et al., 2012;Panuzio & DiLillo, 2010;Stylianou et al., 2013;Wyatt et al., 2000).”
From The relationship between emotional intimate partner violence and other forms of violence: A metaanalytic review. (2024) · cites this paper as Hardesty et al., 2016
The Discussion section reports that controlling dynamics during marriage appeared to persist after separation, with harassment and fear among mothers in the coercive controlling violence group. This supports a link between earlier IPV and later harmful behavior, but the study does not establish that conflict or IPV identified early in a relationship predicted revictimization or escalating violence. (LLM, conf=0.78)
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- Authors
- Hardesty, J. L., Crossman, K. A., Khaw, L., & Raffaelli, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale (US)
- Montclair State University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Family Psychology
- Published
- 2016-04
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 320-330
- ISSN
- 0893-3200 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1293
- PMC
- PMC4816654
- OpenAlex
- W2317742345
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 4.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Family Psychology (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R21HD061559A)
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- United States Department of Agriculture (793-348)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- intimate partner violence, coparenting quality, divorce, marital separation, situational couple violence, parental conflict, father-child relationship, mothers
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Child, Child, Preschool, Divorce, Female, Humans, Infant, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Mothers, Spouse Abuse, Parenting, Qualitative Research, Young Adult
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