Does intimate partner violence mediate the association between adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptomatology in women? A mediation meta-analysis.

Abstract

Research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms that link adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and internalizing symptomatology in women. In the present study, we conducted a systematic review to assess whether intimate partner violence (IPV) mediated the association between ACEs and internalizing symptomatology in women. We utilized a novel statistical technique-meta-analytic structural equation modelling (MASEM)-to examine the path model by amalgamating effect sizes across all studies, thereby combining both meta-analytic and structural equation modelling approaches. A total of 25 studies (N = 30,737 women) were included in the MASEM. The average age of female participants was 30.7 years. Results indicated that IPV partially mediated the association between ACEs and internalizing symptomatology, explaining 16 % of the total effect. Tested moderators included sociodemographic factors (age, SES, single status, and minority status) and methodological factors, including IPV characteristics (IPV category and IPV timeline), psychopathology assessment method, and the number of ACEs items measured. None of the tested moderators significantly influenced the indirect pathway. Findings suggest that IPV is an important risk factor in explaining why ACEs are associated with internalizing symptomatology in women.