Pathway from Childhood Maltreatment to Perceived Parental Competence and Intimate Partner Violence Among Expecting Fathers: The Role of PTSD Symptoms

Men who have a history of childhood maltreatment may be at risk of experiencing significant challenges during the transition to parenthood, which might be explained by the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Using a nonclinical community sample of 230 expecting fathers, the aims of the current study were as follows (1) to investigate, during the prenatal period, associations between childhood maltreatment and perceived parental competence as well as between childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence, and (2) to evaluate whether PTSD symptoms contributed to explaining these associations. A structural equation model showed that the severity of childhood maltreatment predicted more severe PTSD symptoms, which in turn predicted higher levels of intimate partner violence as well as a lower perceived parental competence. No direct associations between childhood maltreatment and both perceived parental competence and intimate partner violence were observed. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.