Treating Children Exposed to Domestic Violence (From The Effects of Intimate Partner Violence on Children, P 183-202, 2003, Robert A. Geffner, Robyn S. Igelman, and Jennifer Zellner, eds. -- See NCJ-202075)

• NCJ Number: 202083
• Author(s): Laurel Carter; Steven J. Kay; Jacqueline L. George; Pamela King
• Date Published: 2003
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: Haworth Maltreatment and Trauma Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper describes the components and presents the evaluation results for a Utah pilot program intended to provide treatment to children who had been exposed to domestic violence, to provide treatment to their parents, to measure the effectiveness of the treatment, and to develop interagency treatment protocols that other agencies could replicate.

Abstract

A total of 192 children and 64 parents participated in the program during the 2 years of the study. The children ranged in age from 4 to 18, with the average being 9. The parent included in treatment was typically the mother; however, there were 12 men involved throughout the 2 years of the program. Children and their parents attended individual, group, and family therapy services. The children were grouped by age and grade in school. One treatment goal for the children was to build safety-planning skills, self-esteem, developmentally appropriate ways of expressing feelings, prosocial skills, conflict resolution skills, and parent-child relationship skills, as well as to identify and strengthen support systems. A second goal was to provide an atmosphere conducive to self-disclosure and therapeutic interventions to heal trauma responses. The parent group, facilitated by a licensed therapist, paralleled the children's treatment group. A safety plan was developed for both victims and perpetrators during the early phase of treatment. The outcomes for the program were measured with the Youth Outcome Questionnaire, a parent-report measure of treatment progress for children ages 4-17; the Objectives Checklist, a parent report measure of the child's ability to express emotions; the Social Skills Rating System, which assessed the frequency and importance of behaviors that influence a child's development of social competence and adaptive functioning; the Parenting Stress Index/Short Form, which assessed the amount of stress in the parent-child system; the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children; the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale; the Family Worries Scale; and the Family Stereotypes Card Sort. Three sites participated in the project. Following treatment, children exposed to domestic violence showed a decrease in behavioral problems, an increase in their abilities to recognize and discuss abuse, and an ability to use a safety plan. Parents reported less stress following treatment. 7 tables and 37 references