Differences and Similarities in Mother and Child Reports About IPV Risks: Concordance Is Likely but Cannot Be Assumed

Abstract

Reports from 297 mother–child dyads were compared to explore concurrence in relation to violence committed by the father on specific high-risk items and in terms of general risk to the mother and to the child using composite measures. Results indicated the majority of the mother–child dyads report similar risk using eight individual items (60.9%-77.1%) and on the composite measures (61.9% and 54.2%). However, concordance was lower than anticipated. Findings highlight the importance of not simply relying on parental report but instead obtaining the child’s report about their own exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) in clinical, research, and forensic applications.