PROJECT SUMMARY
Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs at alarmingly high rates, with the highest risk of IPV exposure during
pregnancy. IPV during this critical juncture is associated with postpartum depression, posttraumatic stress,
disruption to the mother-infant relationship, and poor infant outcomes. Despite these deleterious effects to both
the mother and infant, there is a lack of evidence-based interventions that have demonstrated effectiveness for
this population. A critical need exists for a theoretically-driven intervention, rooted in translational research, that
can demonstrate effectiveness in addressing the specific, developmental needs of IPV-exposed pregnant
women and their children. In response to this need, the research team has created the Pregnant Moms’
Empowerment Program (PMEP). Using a multi-site, randomized clinical trial design, the specific objectives of
the current study are to evaluate the efficacy of the PMEP program in addressing (1) maternal mental health,
resilience, re-victimization, and parenting sensitivity and (2) early infant development, including cognitive,
language, and socioemotional functioning. We also seek to evaluate mechanisms of treatment change – social
support and empowerment. Participants will include 230 IPV-exposed pregnant women, half of whom will
receive the PMEP and half of whom will be in a contact equivalent active control condition. Women in both
conditions will participate in group-based treatment during 1, 2-hour session each week, for 5 weeks.
Assessments will be administered at pre-treatment, post-treatment, 3 months postpartum (i.e., infants 3
months old), and 12 months postpartum (i.e., infants 1 year old). Assessments will include semi-structured
interviews and observational data collection. We expect that providing the PMEP intervention during pregnancy
will have positive effects for both mothers and infants across the perinatal period, addressing the negative
intergenerational effects of IPV. Our central hypothesis is that the PMEP, developed based on previous
empirical research, focus groups of community stakeholders, and pilot intervention data, will reduce re-
victimization and improve maternal mental health, resilience, and parenting sensitivity. Analyses will be
conducted using multilevel and structural equation modeling; pilot data support the adequacy of the proposed
sample size to detect treatment effects for each study aim. This project is both innovative in its use of a multi-
site, multi-method design and significant in that it addresses the needs of a vulnerable population that has few
available treatment resources. It has the potential to improve both behavioral and mental health outcomes
among not only pregnant women, but also their young children, which will reduce the public health burden of
poor mental health during the prenatal period and improve the health and well-being of new mothers, their
children, and their families. The proposed study will address a critical gap in both research and clinical work by
creating an effective and sustainable intervention that can be readily implemented in community care settings.
