Neurophysiological Differences in Auditory Threat Processing in Young Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: a Pilot Study

Abstract

Threat reactivity is a mechanism linking children's exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health outcomes. Most studies focus on visual threats, with few examining auditory threat—a salient aspect of IPV exposure. This pilot study examines auditory threats in IPV-exposed children with event-related brain potentials (ERPs) elicited during an auditory affective oddball task. Children (N = 37, ages 4–7) were presented with four auditory cues: (1) standard cues with neutral prosody (dada; 70% of trials), (2) deviant or oddball cues with neutral prosody (baba; 10% of trials), (3) happy prosody deviant cues (dada; 10% of trials), and (4) angry prosody deviant cues (dada; 10% of trails). We analyzed the P3, an ERP index of emotionally salient or novel stimuli occurring 250–350 ms post-stimulus onset. Compared to non-exposed children, IPV-exposed children had smaller mean differences between P3 amplitudes than angry and standard cues, suggesting an altered appraisal and blunted emotional response to auditory threat. This blunted response was significantly associated with mother-reported child posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. These findings provide preliminary evidence of neurophysiological distinctions in auditory threat processing in children exposed to IPV, underscoring the need for further research examining auditory threat.