Abstract:

Intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to any form of aggression and/or controlling behaviors by a current or former partner in an intimate relationsip against the other. It causes harm not only to the physical and mental health of women, but to social adjustment of the children concerned. IPV is closely associated with both children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors. As protective factors, the age and emotional regulation ability of the children and the social support they received may decrease their adjustment problems. The cognitive-contextual framework, emotional security theory, spillover theory and developmental psychopathological framework explain the mechanisms of how IPV impacts children’s social adjustment. Several intervention programs are conducted by practitioners to facilitate the social adjustment ability of the children. Future research should take more efforts to differentiate various IPV assessment, control co- occurring risk factors, highlight neurobiological research and improve intervention studies.

Key words: Intimate partner violence, social adjustment, emotional security, intervention