WHAT ABOUT ME!

Seeking to Understand the Child's View of Violence in the Family

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by Alison Cunningham and Linda Baker (2004)

This study was funded by the National Crime Prevention Strategy as part of the Best Evidence to Inform Better Practice Project. It involves an exhaustive review of the literature on child exposure to domestic violence (almost 400 sources) integrated with extensive clinical experience to create a revolutionary new framework for understanding, studying and intervening with children who have lived with woman abuse. Case studies illustrate key points and child drawings bring to life the experience of violence through young eyes.

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Definitions

• Nominal Definition

• Operational Definition

  • Which "Parent" was Violent?

  • According to Whom?

  • When was the Violence?

• Why is Operationalization Important?

  • Descriptive Studies

  • Explanatory Studies

  • Binary Classification

  • The Problem(s) of Binary Classification

  • Potential Solutions

• National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth

• Program Evaluation

  • The Program

  • The Referrals/Clients

  • The Comparison

  • The Outcomes

Conceptual Framework: Seek to Understand

• Best Evidence

• A Child's-Eye View

  • Each Child has a Unique Vantage Point on Shared Experiences

• Each Child has a Different Family Role vis-à-vis the Violence

• A Developmental Framework for Understanding

  • Models of Differential Impact

  • Coping Strategies in Homes with Violence

• It's all Bad: The Gestalt of Family Violence

• Gender Analysis

• The Adversity Package

  • Corollary Stresses of Inter-parental Violence

  • Abuse Overlap

  • Inter-correlated Co-occuring Adversities

  • Dose-response Relationship

• Ecological Context

• First do no Harm

  • Risk Assessment and the Ecological Fallacy

  • Developmental Appropriateness

Pre-Natal Stage

• Violence During Pregnancy

  • Correlation with Adverse Pari-Natal Outcomes

• Hypothetical Impact on Development

• Implications for Intervention

  • Screening in Health Care Settings

  • Eliminate Abuse

  • Ameliorate Inter-correlated Adversities

  • Home Visitation Programs

  • Professional Training

Infants and Toddlers

• Violence in the Post-partum Period

  • Child Maltreatment

• Hypothetical Impact on Development

• Implications for Intervention

  • Eliminate Abuse

  • Ameliorate Family Adversities

  • Support the Caregiver to Support the Child

  • Home Visiting Programs

  • Child Care Placement

  • Professional Training

  • Visitation Programs

  • Fathering Programs

Pre-schoolers

• Hypothetical Impact on Development

  • Expression of Emotion

  • Salience of Observation and Conflicting Messages

  • Focus on Outcome

  • Ego-centricity and Self-blame

  • Gender Roles

  • Delay or Regression in Development of Independence

• Coping Strategies

• Implications for Intervention

  • Eliminate Abuse

  • Ameliorate Family Adversities

  • Support the Caregiver to Support the Child

  • Child Care Placement

  • Professional Training

  • Visitation Programs

  • Fathering Programs

  • One-on-One Therapy

School-age Children

• Hypothetical Impact on Development

  • Rationalizations of Violence

  • Emphasis on Fairness

  • Impact on Academic Performance

  • Peer Relationships

  • Gender Differences

• Coping Strategies

• Implications for Intervention

  • Eliminate Abuse

  • Ameliorate Family Adversities

  • Support the Caregiver to Support the Child

  • School Support

  • Training for Professional Groups

  • Visitation Programs

  • Fathering Programs

  • Child-focussed Assessment and Intervention

Adolescents

• Adolescents and Domestic Violence

• Hypothetical Impact on Development

• Coping Strategies

• Implications for Intervention

  • Eliminate Abuse

  • Ameliorate Family Adversities

  • Support the Caregiver to Support the Child

  • School Support

  • Training for Professional Groups

  • Youth-focssed Assessment and Intervention

  • Peer Support

Overall Implications for Intervention

• Eliminate Abuse

• Ameliorate Other Adversities and Family Challenges

  • Encourage Effective Parenting

• Holistic Intervention with the Child

  • Assessment: First Seek to Understand

  • Beware the Ecological Fallacy

  • One Size Fits All?

  • "A Bad Past Doesn't Mean a Bad Future"

This report is only available in electronic format.

Children and Domestic Violence Resource Page

In one place, you can find all the Centre's resources on children exposed to family violence, most of which are available for download at no cost. For example, see all the resources generated from our "Best Evidence to Inform Better Practice" Project including a bibliography of the almost 400 sources used in that review and a list of available program manuals. We also list all our training resources and research reports. We are have some PowerPoint presentations from various conference presentations and workshops. Check back periodically for updates.