Publications & Projects

Using the Longitudinal Studies in Child Abuse and Neglect (n = 1,354) data set, a hypothesized mediational model was tested that examined whether problems with self-regulation at age 6 predicted PSB at age 8 while accounting for the impact of child sexual abuse and/or child physical abuse occurring prior to age 6. Using structural equation modeling, the defined mediational model was largely supported, with both child sexual abuse and physical abuse prior to age 6 predicting problems with self-regulation at age 6, which in turn predicted PSB at age 8. This mediational relationship operated similarly across two different conceptualizations of PSB, one that was general and included a variety of behaviors and one that was restricted only to interpersonally intrusive types of behavior. Early physical abuse continued to predict age 8 PSB after controlling for self-regulation across both models; however, early child sexual abuse continued to predict only intrusive types of behavior.  

Concept analysis to report an analysis of the concept of post-separation abuse and its impact on the health of children and adult survivors.

This research describes women’s engagement with the civil legal system as a safety strategy when experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). Using a critical lens, it explores how violence victimization, help-seeking, and social identities influence victim-survivors’ decisions to seek civil protection orders (POs) and whether they obtain them. Using cross-sectional survey methods, we recruited women experiencing IPV in relationships with men (N = 660) from ten emergency shelters in a metropolitan region of the southwestern United States. Violence and help-seeking predicted whether victim-survivors sought POs, whereas social identities predicted whether they received them, revealing the influence of social identities on civil justice outcomes.

Post-separation abuse is a pervasive societal and public health problem. This literature review aims to critically synthesize the evidence on tactics and consequences of post-separation abuse. We examined 48 published articles in the US and Canada from 2011 through May 2022. Post-separation abuse encompasses a broad range of tactics perpetrated by a former intimate partner including patterns of psychological, legal, economic, and mesosystem abuse as well as weaponizing children. Functional consequences include risk of lethality and deprivation of fundamental human needs. Connecting tactics of post-separation abuse to harms experienced by survivors and their children is crucial for future research, policy, and ­intervention work to promote long-term safety, health, and well-­being of children and adult survivors.

The objective of this integrative review was to critically synthesize the evidence on protective factors in early childhood that buffer the effects of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) on young children's health outcomes.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and intimate partner homicide (IPH) are complex global problems. Transdisciplinary research approaches offer the potential to increase the understanding of these events and inform best practices for prevention. To encourage scholars to adopt transdisciplinary practices when investigating multifaceted problems, this note employs a case study approach to detail one such effort—The Preventing and Assessing Intimate Partner Homicide Risk (PAIR) Studies. The goal of the PAIR Studies is to improve the understanding of IPH to inform the development of best practices for prevention. The note concludes with a discussion of the benefits of transdisciplinary approaches.

A transdisciplinary, community-engaged approach enables researchers to connect knowledge generation with domestic violence homicide prevention. This case study utilizes medical examiner data from Harris County, Texas (2016–2020, n = 2,517) to identify and examine correlates of domestic violence homicides. The research team identified more than double the number of domestic violence homicides than had been flagged in the original data. Geospatial analysis identified unequal distribution of homicide across communities and significant gender-based disparities in domestic violence homicides. Transdisciplinary approaches can be used to accurately identify domestic violence homicides and provide a foundation to develop multi-level interventions.

The aim of this study is to provide insight from maternal survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) describing their experiences with their ex-partners' firearm ownership, access, storage and behaviours in the context of co-parenting and separation.

Domestic violence is a commonplace and serious societal problem with vast public health and economic consequences. Childhood exposure to domestic violence can blight children’s biological and social development. Often, local police departments are first responders to domestic violence. This is because danger is associated with these events, which requires police presence. Yet, children are often unseen victims of domestic violence. In general, law enforcement agencies (i) are ill-equipped to identify the risks experienced by children; (ii) struggle to find alternative outcomes for children at risk other than removal or criminalization; (iii) do not use scientifically informed assessment tools which might improve their interactions with children; and (iv) inconsistently share data with other agencies in a timely manner. Moreover, gaps in criminal legal, child welfare, and family court responses to violence in the family create circumstances where children may fall through the cracks. Positive interventions in relation to domestic violence and children who suffer as a result of it should be viewed as a public priority. Improving responses to these issues should be reframed as (i) a way to reduce the amount of future violent crimes committed, and (ii) reduce the resource burden felt by public services. This commentary discusses the scope and scale of children’s exposure to domestic violence and child maltreatment and discusses international best practices that can serve as models to improve law enforcement’s response to children.

“The Future of Foster Care: New Science on Old Problems” is a collection of expanded conference proceedings from the 2019 conference of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, a national leader in research designed to influence public policy that better protects vulnerable children from abuse. The goal of the conference and the subsequent published monograph was to provide examples of what is working for some of the system’s most intractable problems. 

Sheridan Miyamoto – Research output — Penn State (psu.edu)

Connell, C.M. & Strambler, M.J. Experiences with COVID-19 stressors and parents’ use of neglectful, harsh, and positive parenting practices in the Northeastern United States. Child Maltreatment, 26, 255-266, 2021.