Indirect Effects of a Prenatal Intimate Partner Violence Intervention on Infant Socioemotional Functioning: Examining the Pregnant Moms’ Empowerment Program

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects 1 in 3 women globally, and the negative ramifications of exposure to IPV for women and their children are well-documented. Evidence-based interventions for pregnant women experiencing IPV are lacking, which represents a gap in effective services for women at this key developmental juncture. Evaluations of a brief group therapy program for IPV-exposed pregnant women, the Pregnant Moms’ Empowerment Program (PMEP), have shown positive effects for women across several indicators, including IPV revictimization, mental health, and both observed and self-reported parenting. The indirect impacts of PMEP on infant socioemotional functioning have not been examined.Objective The current study evaluated whether previously established intervention-related improvements in maternal psychological functioning (i.e. IPV revictimization, depression) and caregiving (i.e. empathy, developmentally appropriate parenting expectations, observed parenting sensitivity) indirectly impact infant temperament (i.e. Surgency/Extraversion, Negative Affectivity, Orienting/Regulation) and observed affect.Method Data were drawn from a quasi-randomized trial with N = 137 pregnant women who had experienced IPV.Results Results indicated that there were some indirect benefits of the PMEP for infants. Specifically, intervention-related decreases in maternal IPV revictimization contributed to more positive observed infant affect, while intervention-related decreases in maternal depressive symptoms led to lower levels of infant Negative Affectivity.Conclusions Study findings highlight the emergence of promising evidence to support the intergenerational benefits of PMEP for infants born to IPV-exposed mothers, suggesting that early intervention for families is not only possible but also likely engenders benefits across the family system.