Effects of Father Visitation on Preschool-Aged Witnesses of Domestic Violence

• NCJ Number: 222235
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 18 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2003 Pages: 1149-1166
• Author(s): Carla Smith Stover; Patricia Van Horn; Rebecca Turner; Bruce Cooper; Alicia F. Lieberman
• Date Published: October 2003
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the effects of varying amounts of visitation among preschool children with their previously violent fathers, specifically to determine if the amount of father visitation was related to their behavioral functioning.

Abstract

The impact of father visitation on internalizing and externalizing behavior scores is consistent across analyses. Father visitation is a clear predictor of depressive, anxious, and somatic symptoms. Aggressive and antisocial symptoms are related to the severity of violence perpetrated by the father, highlighting the importance of visitation decisions in domestic violence families. The question of visitation is compounded in domestic violence cases by the effects of witnessing family violence on children. Child witnesses of domestic violence are subjected to a variety of psychological traumas during their parents’ relationship. Preschoolers seem to be at particular risk for behavior problems. Fifty preschool children with varying amounts of visitation with their previously violent fathers were studied to determine if the amount of father visitation was related to their behavioral functioning. Tables, references