NCJ Number
202075
Editor(s)
Robert A. Geffner Ph.D.,
Robyn Spurling Igelman M.A.,
Jennifer Zellner M.S.
Date Published
2003
Length
336 pages
Annotation
Twelve papers report on research that has examined adjustment in children exposed to intimate partner violence, prevention and intervention for such children, the effects of treatment, and legal issues and policy implications.
Abstract
A review of research on the effects of domestic violence on the adjustment of children who witness it notes that such children are at increased risk for a multitude of psychological, behavioral, social, and educational problems. In addition, such children are themselves at increased risk for physical abuse. Substantial research has also found that adults who were abused as children or witnessed violence in the home experience impaired functioning as adults. A paper on the moderators of the impact of family conflict on children's adjustment and health found that children's ability to manage their emotional reactions in a constructive way affected their developmental adjustment. Other papers on the adjustment in children exposed to domestic violence focus on children's behavior in low-income families where domestic violence occurs, adolescents' perceptions of their affinity with parents who are involved in aggressive conflict, and the diversity of children's immediate coping responses to witnessing domestic violence. The two papers on prevention and intervention for children exposed to intimate partner violence focus on a model for the provision of protective processes for children exposed to violence between parents and techniques for treating children exposed to domestic violence. Two papers report on the effects of treatment programs for children exposed to domestic violence. These programs have found that teaching children constructive coping mechanisms, including the management of stress, and instructing them in "safety planning" helps children to mitigate the effects of their exposure to domestic violence. Interventions for non-maltreating parents also help to cultivate constructive parenting and coping for victims of domestic violence. The two papers on legal issues and policy implications focus on judicial child-custody and access decisions in cases in which domestic violence is involved in a divorce case, as well as on the experiences of battered women in seeking services for themselves and their children. Chapter references and data tables and a subject index