Children's multi-level violence exposures, contextual stressors, and mental health outcomes: Emotionally regulated coping as a resource for resilience

This study applies an ecological stress process model (Foster & Brooks-Gunn, 2009) of children's exposure to violence (ETV) to examine (a) associations between family and community violence exposures and child mental health adjustment, and (b) the role of emotionally-regulated coping (ERC) as a protective factor in the association between ETV and child mental health. The sample consisted of poor, predominantly Latino school-age children (n=126) from ninety-one housed and homeless single-parenting families in which the majority of children were exposed to multiple forms of violence. Mothers provided demographic information, self-reported on experiences of partner violence, and reported on their child's history of physical and sexual abuse, community violence exposures, and symptoms of PTSD and externalizing behaviors. Children self-reported on exposure to community violence, internalizing symptoms, and coping. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized negative mental health impacts of multilevel ETV, and to examine ERC as potentially moderating associations between ETV and child mental health. Exposure to family abuse (EFA) was uniquely associated with PTSD, and community violence exposure with symptoms of anxiety and aggression. EFA was more strongly associated with anxiety, aggression and PTSD for children reporting less effective ERC than for those reporting more effective ERC. While particular forms of violence were associated with specific mental health outcomes, support for ERC may offer children, families and communities a resource for mental health resilience in contexts of stressors outside their control, offering a useful target for intervention and prevention services in community and educational as well as clinical settings.