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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The intent of this article by Jaffe et al. was to assess the attitudes of children who witness domestic violence against women, and to evaluate an intervention program for children which addresses their special developmental needs.
METHODOLOGY:
The initial study employed a matched group survey of 28 children who had not been exposed to domestic violence and 28 children who had been exposed to domestic violence. A non probability sample was achieved through a newspaper advertisement which sought children who had not been exposed to wife abuse and through 28 volunteers who were ex-residents of a regional shelters (no location identified). The Child Witness to Violence Interview (42 questions) was developed to assess three issues previously identified by research and clinical observations as important for children who witnessed domestic violence. The three areas were attitudes/responses to anger (the degree that violence was perceived as an appropriate solution to conflict), safety skills (the level of awareness children had of how to keep themselves safe during episodes of domestic violence), and responsibility for violence (the degree that children felt blame for the domestic violence they witnessed). The second study focused on children from one of four communities (London, Chatham, Cambridge and Woodstock) who were involved in a group counseling program. They were of lower-income, somewhat transitory families (approximately 8 family moves and 4 school changes during the child's lifetime), and parents had been separated for an average of 12 months prior to the counseling. The groups were divided into age clusters of 7-10 years and 11-13 years, and the workshop format was divided into 10 topics: labeling feelings, dealing with anger, safety skills, social support, social competence and self-concept, responsibility for parents, responsibility for violence, understanding family violence, and issues related to separation and divorce. The Child Witness to Violence Interview, the Parent Perception Inventory (Hazzard, Christensen, & Margolin, 1983), and the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenback & Edelbrock, 1983) were used.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The initial study revealed that children exposed to violence were more likely to condone violence as a means of resolving conflict (p<.06), children of battered women had less knowledge on how to deal with emergency situations (p<.01), and there were no significant differences between the two groups feelings of responsibility for the family violence. Because clinicians have reported a sense of guilt among children who witness family violence, the absence of any significant differences between the two groups was an unanticipated finding. In the second study, the Child Behavior Checklist showed no significant changes in behavior, although 80% of the mothers perceived improvement in their child's behavior as a result of the counseling. Children did demonstrate a significant (p<.005) improvement in safety skill strategies and reported an improvement in the perceptions of their mothers (p<.001) and fathers (p<.005).
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
Measurable improvements in child adjustment, it was argued, may require longitudinal studies, and more controlled evaluations are needed to assess the most and least effective interventions for children of battered women.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Countries Other Than USA
KW - Canada
KW - Domestic Violence Effects
KW - Witnessing Violence Effects
KW - Witnessing Spouse Abuse
KW - Child Witness
KW - Domestic Violence Intervention
KW - Spouse Abuse Intervention
KW - Intervention Program
KW - Program Effectiveness
KW - Program Evaluation
KW - Spouse Abuse Effects
KW - Interparental Violence
KW - Children of Battered Women
KW - Partner Violence
KW - Violence Against Women |