How does intimate partner violence affect child development?
Date
2022-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a socioeconomic, public health, and human development problem that causes negative effects on the well-being of victims. This study explores the effect of multiple dimensions of IPV, specifically physical violence, controlling behavior, and emotional abuse, on children's physical and cognitive development using data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutritional Survey. We find evidence that IPV on mothers has adverse consequences on children's human capital. Our results
suggest that the impact on child development is specific to the form of IPV. Maternal exposure to physical violence negatively affects children's physical characteristics, evidenced by a significant reduction in their body mass indices. On the other hand, mother's vulnerability to controlling behavior
impairs children's cognitive abilities, significantly decreasing their test scores in mathematics, english, and nonverbal reasoning. These findings are robust to propensity score, nearest-neighbor, radius, and kernel matching methods.
Meanwhile, we do not find a significant link between emotional abuse and height, body mass index, and test scores.
Description
Keywords
cognitive ability, domestic violence, family, human capital, intimate partner violence, physical development