Assessing Dimensions of Children’s Exposure to Family Violence with the Family Socialization Interview – Revised 2.0

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent in families with young children and increases risk for trauma-related symptoms, making comprehensive assessment of IPV important for research and clinical purposes. The reliability, validity, and incremental value of the partner conflict section of the semi-structured Family Socialization Interview - Revised 2.0 (FSI-R2) were examined in a sample of children at-risk for IPV exposure (N = 246, M age = 5.4 years, SD = 0.9). Data analyzed were from a study investigating the effects of IPV on young children. Interrater reliability was acceptable. Supporting convergent validity, FSI-R2 severity correlated positively with mother-reported partner conflict (Conflict Tactics Scale-2) and child-reported perceived threat (Berkeley Puppet Interview). The FSI-R2 severity codes correlated positively with children's PTSD and trauma-related symptoms. Supporting incremental value, FSI-R2 severity explained unique variance in children's symptoms beyond the CTS2. Finally, findings underscored the importance of comprehensively assessing IPV that has occurred not only with current partners, but also ex-partners, and across children's lifetimes.