"Cognitive contextual framework (Grych & Fincham, 1990) and emotional security theory (Cummings & Davies, 1994) posit that children's appraisals about interparental conflict influence child adjustment outcomes. Though children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) involving their parents are at increased risk for developing trauma symptoms as well as dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning, the cognitive precursors to these outcomes have rarely been studied. The present study sought to investigate children's threat and self-blame appraisals about interparental conflict as potential mechanisms contributing to these adverse outcomes. The influence of child and family level contextual factors (gender; parent-child relationships) were also examined. The sample consisted of 119 10-year-olds and their mothers who were recruited from the community as a part of a larger longitudinal study of IPV. Though children's reports of IPV exposure in the past year were not associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), greater exposure to parental IPV was associated with attenuated cortisol output during the Trier Social Stress Test for children. Greater IPV exposure was also associated with increased threat appraisals, as well as worse parent-child relationship quality. Indirect effects of IPV on PTSD symptoms and HPA axis responsivity through children's appraisals were not significant. These results suggest that witnessing parental IPV is threatening for children and can have negative consequences for parent-child relationships. In addition, this study highlights the complexity of factors that influence the development of trauma symptoms following exposure to parental IPV."--Page ii.
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