(PS3-67) Children Exposed to Violence Against Their Mothers: Effectiveness of Psychological Treatment

The main aim of this study was to assess the empirical support of psychological treatment implemented in the Psychological Care Service for Children of Women Victims of Intimate Partners Violence (Servicio Atención de Atención Psicológica a Menores Expuestos a Violencia contra sus madres, SAPMEX) in the Autonomous Region of Murcia, Spain. The following specific objectives were established: 1) assess effectiveness of psychological treatment to reduce global, internalizing, externalizing symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms; 2) examine how “treatment modality” variables “age” and “sex” influence results of intervention; and 3) assess efficiency of psychological treatment as regards type of treatment used.

As for methodology, this study was based on a retrospective ex post facto approach, examining the records of children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years old who received psychological treatment at SAPMEX, with assessments available before and after intervention, during the period 2009 and 2020. The theoretical foundations of the treatment are Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Systemic Family Therapy (STF). Aimed at both mothers and their children, and performed in two modalities: individual sessions (Individual) and a combination of individual and group sessions (Individual+Group). Participant selection for each treatment modality was conducted randomly. The total sample for analyzes comprised 95 minors, of which 27 participated in the Individual modality and 68 in the Individual+Group one. Evaluation of symptomatology in children and adolescents was carried out using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire by Achenbach and Rescorla (2001), and the calculated subscale CBCL Posttraumatic Stress Problems (CBCL-PTSD, Achenbach and Rescorla, 2007). For comparison between groups, the Student's t test was performed once assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variances were verified. The effect size of this comparison was calculated using Cohen's d. Linear mixed models were performed to determine influence of variables on psychological treatment.

Based on results, we conclude that this intervention model proves effective and potentially effective, since statistically significant reductions have been recorded both at general level and in internalizing, externalizing and post-traumatic stress symptoms. We did not observe that the “treatment modality” variable influenced results; however, the Individual+group condition showed greater efficiency than the individual one. Regarding most notable results, significant differences were seen prior to treatment by sex, as greater affectation was found in boys in Externalizing Symptoms and Aggressive Behavior, while the same was observed in Somatic Complaints in girls. Furthermore, greater initial affectation was seen to be associated with greater improvement after psychological treatment.