Citation

Wolfe DA, Crooks CV, Lee V, McIntyre-Smith AM, Jaffe PG. Clin. Child Fam. Psychol. Rev. 2003; 6(3): 171-187.

Affiliation

Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. dawolfe@uwo.ca

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

14620578

Abstract

A wide range of children's developmental outcomes are compromised by exposure to domestic violence, including social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and general health functioning. However, there are relatively few empirical studies with adequate control of confounding variables and a sound theoretical basis. We identified 41 studies that provided relevant and adequate data for inclusion in a meta-analysis. Forty of these studies indicated that children's exposure to domestic violence was related to emotional and behavioral problems, translating to a small overall effect (Zr = .28). Age, sex, and type of outcome were not significant moderators, most likely due to considerable heterogeneity within each of these groups. Co-occurrence of child abuse increased the level of emotional and behavioral problems above and beyond exposure alone, based on 4 available studies. Future research needs are identified, including the need for large-scale longitudinal data and theoretically guided approaches that take into account relevant contextual factors.

Language: en