NCJ Number
161994
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1996) Pages: 41-57
Date Published
1996
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study used a longitudinal naturalistic observation design to analyze the behaviors of children in battered women's shelters according to gender, experience of abuse, age, and object of the behaviors.
Abstract
A total of 75 children in five women's shelters in southwestern Ontario, Canada, were included in the study. Full- time child support workers volunteered to be observers; they were trained in observation techniques at a 1-day workshop. A Behavior Grouping model that identified 154 behaviors was developed. These behaviors were divided into four main headings of physical, physiological, and verbalized behaviors, as well as feelings of the children expressed through "I" statements. These four main categories of behavior were broken down into 10 specific clusters of behaviors. The 10 clusters of behaviors were then divided into positive and negative categories. Results show first, the complexity of behaviors; second, fluctuating positive behaviors; third, the overall decline of negative behaviors; and fourth, the shelter worker's role as the victims' primary object. Conclusions emphasize the importance of early childhood development, the need for clinical support to child victims of violence, and the need for counseling models to facilitate the changes in child victims' behaviors. 2 figures, 1 table, and 22 references