Infant exposure to domestic violence predicts heightened sensitivity to adult verbal conflict

The current study examined whether one-year-old infants whose mothers had been victims of domestic violence during the infant's lifetime (exposed; n = 30), compared to those who had not (not exposed; n = 59), would be more likely to experience distress in response to a simulated verbal conflict and whether amount of distress expressed would be influenced by infant temperament. Infants were videotaped during and for five minutes after an experimenter pretended to have a telephone argument. Exposure to domestic violence was related to infant distress following the episode of simulated adult verbal conflict. Temperamental activity, adaptability, and negative mood predicted greater distress only among non-exposed infants. Findings suggest that while only temperamentally more reactive infants would typically display distress in response to verbal conflict, infants exposed to domestic violence may be likely to display distress in response to verbal conflict regardless of temperament.