Children's Adjustment Problems in Families Characterized by Men's Severe Violence Toward Women: Does Other Family Violence Matter?

• NCJ Number: 226925
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 33 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 94-101
• Author(s): Renee McDonald; Ernest N. Jouriles; Candyce D. Tart; Laura C. Minze
• Date Published: February 2009
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01-MH-53380; R01-MH-62064; 2005-JW-BX-K017
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study examined whether other forms of family violence were important for understanding the adjustments of problems of children exposed to men’s severe intimate partner violence (IPV).

Abstract

Findings show that when other forms of aggression toward family members are disaggregated and considered, two key points emerge: men’s severe IPV seldom occurs in the absence of other forms of family violence; and these other forms of family violence also appear to contribute to children’s adjustment problems. These findings suggest that the influence of family violence on children’s adjustment derives from aspects of violence that are common across the multiple forms of violence as well as aspects that are specific to each of them. Parent-child aggression is a robust predictor of children’s adjustment problems, and children who accompany their mothers to domestic violence shelters are at a high risk for experiencing such aggression. In the 6 months prior to their participation, almost half of the children in the sample had been the target of severe aggression by their mother’s partner; just over one third had been the target of severe aggression by their mother. In addition, at least half of the children were reported to exhibit elevated levels of adjustment problems. Given the over 1 million children who reside in domestic violence shelters each year, and their elevated risk for violent victimization or psychological adjustment problems, a public health perspective would suggest that domestic violence shelters be considered a point of entry into a system of care for these children. Systematic efforts to identify and treat children in domestic violence shelters who are victims of parental abuse or who have significant mental health problems seem warranted. Data were collected from 258 children 8- to 12-years old and their mothers, recruited from shelters that provide temporary residence to those seeking refuge from domestic violence. Tables, figure, and references