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Article Summary

Graham-Bermann, S. A., Howell, K. H., Miller, L. E., Kwek, J., & Lilly, M. M. (2010).
Traumatic events and maternal education as predictors of verbal ability for preschool children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV). Journal of Family Violence, 25(4), 383-392. doi: 10.1007/s10896-009-9299-3

The authors of this study focused their research on examining the traumatic effects that intimate partner violence (IPV) has on children’s cognitive development. While previous research has focused specifically on adolescents, this research study is unique because it explores the effects of trauma on the verbal development of preschool-age children. The data gathered for the research contained a sample of 87 mothers and their preschool-age children who were exposed to IPV in the previous 2 years. The authors measured their data against three elements: demographics, verbal ability, and number of potentially traumatic events. Noting the mother’s education level was particularly relevant to demographics, because the authors hypothesized that a mother’s level of education mediates the relationship between exposure to traumatic events and her child’s verbal ability. Based on the analysis of the research, the authors found that greater exposure to traumatic events diminishes the child’s verbal ability. Furthermore, the data findings supported the hypothesis that the mother’s level of education has a significant impact on the child’s cognitive functioning, because a mother’s increasing level of education mediates her child’s exposure to traumatic events while improving his or her verbal ability. The study did not find significant associations between the child’s verbal ability and the mother’s income. Ethnicity was also not a significant hindrance to verbal ability. The researchers concluded that exposure to trauma—in this case IPV—can be associated with a child’s lower verbal ability.