This longitudinal study is designed to investigate the levels of violent victimization for children whose mothers have alcohol problems and the extent to which mother's alcohol problems are, related to her ability to protect children from violent victimization by others. This competitive renewal builds on the previously NIAAA funded (1988-1993) study, """"""""Impact of Family Violence on Women's Alcohol Problems,"""""""" and is specifically designed to reinterview the 472 women from five samples and their adult children regarding the women's roles as mothers.
Specific Aim 1. To examine how mother's alcohol use impacts her violence towards her children. a) What is the relative contribution of mother's alcohol problems to her use of violence against her children? b) Do mediating variables (e.g., children's behavior; children's characteristics) influence this relationship? c) Controlling for moderating variables (e.g., mother's violence history), do alcohol problems in mother uniquely contribute to the level of violence that women use in disciplining their children? Specific Aim 2. To determine the impact of mother's alcohol use on her level of protectiveness and children's victimization experiences. a) Do mother's alcohol problems impact her ability to protect children from violent victimization by others? b) Does mother's ability to protect children impact the extent of violent victimization that they experience? c) Do mediating variables (e.g., children's behavior; children's characteristics) impact mother's ability to protect and the child's violent victimization by others? d) Do moderating variables (e.g., mother's history of violent victimization; partner's alcohol problems) impact the relationship between mother's alcohol problems, mother's ability to protect, and violent victimization for the child? To address the research questions in Specific Aim 1 for mothers with children currently under 18, a prospective component has been designed to measure how changes in mother's alcohol use patterns/problems covary over time with scores on the mother-to-child interactions that are most representative of physical violence. To address Specific Aim 2 prospectively, we will determine how mother's protectiveness covaries over time with mother's alcohol problems. Four different waves of measurement are planned for the prospective component, with a year time lag between each measurement. For mothers with children 1 8 and older, a retrospective component has been designed to measure whether mother's with alcohol problems used more severe physical violence with their children, as compared to mothers without alcohol problems. To address Specific Aim 2, the impact of mother's alcohol problems on the levels of protectiveness will be retrospectively examined as well as whether these levels of protectiveness are related to violent victimization of children by others.
