Child exposure to parental violence and psychological distress associated with delayed milestones

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between parental report of intimate partner violence (IPV) and parental psychological distress (PPD) with child attainment of developmental milestones. METHODS: By using data collected from a large cohort of primary care patients, this cross-sectional study examined the relationship between parental report of IPV and/or PPD and the attainment of developmental milestones within the first 72 months of a child's life. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to adjust for parental report of child abuse concern and sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Our study population included 16 595 subjects. Children of parents reporting both IPV and PPD (n = 88; 0.5%) were more likely to fail at least 1 milestone across the following developmental domains: language (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-3.3), personal-social (aOR 1.9; 95% CI 1.2-2.9), and gross motor (aOR 3.0; 95% CI 1.8-5.0). Significant associations for those reporting IPV-only (n = 331; 2.0%) were found for language (aOR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1-1.9), personal-social (aOR 1.7; 95% CI 1.4-2.2), and fine motor-adaptive (aOR 1.7; 95% CI 1.0-2.7). Significant associations for those reporting PPD-only (n = 1920; 11.6%) were found for: language (aOR 1.5; 95% CI 1.3-1.7), personal-social (aOR 1.6; 95% CI 1.5-1.8), gross motor (aOR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4-1.8), and fine-motor adaptive (aOR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3-2.0). CONCLUSIONS: Screening children for IPV and PPD helps identify those at risk for poor developmental outcomes who may benefit from early intervention.