Longitudinal Impact of Toddlers' Exposure to Domestic Violence

This study assessed how exposure to domestic violence (DV) during early childhood and increases in exposure over time influenced toddlers' behavior and peer problems, physical health, and cognitive abilities in middle childhood. Data from three waves of the survey component of “Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study” were assessed. Thirty-five percent of the 2- to 4-year-olds had mothers who reported DV victimization; 16% reported an increase in DV victimization over 2 years. Opposing past literature, none of the middle childhood outcomes were significantly influenced by early DV exposure. However, increases in mother's DV victimization from 1999 to 2001 significantly increased children's internalizing and externalizing problems and marginally decreased their school engagement in middle childhood in 2005.