The Damage Done - Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence and their Mothers: Towards empirically based interventions in order to reduce negative health effects in children
Abstract
Violence in intimate relationships occurs in all societies, and intimate partner
violence (IPV) is a prevalent and serious social problem. Mothers of young
children are particularly often victims of IPV, the consequences of which
often have long-lasting effects. Research has convincingly brought to light the
detrimental effects of IPV on women’s psychological and physical health.
Too many children are raised in homes where IPV occurs. There is now
a substantial body of research of the harm that IPV exposure can inflict on
children’s health and development.
Nationally and internationally there have been calls for research evaluating
support services for children and their mothers in the aftermath of IPV. Since
2007, the Social Services Act has prescribed the responsibility of social services
for ensuring that children who witness violence receive the support and help
they need. International knowledge is limited about the effectiveness of most
methods developed within and outside social services to support children who
have witnessed violence against their mothers. In Sweden, empirically based
knowledge is almost nonexistent.
The data presented in this thesis comes from a national project evaluating the
support available to children exposed to IPV and to their mothers, and from an
earlier pilot project. After receiving support, children (9 to 13 years of age) in
the national evaluation study reported reduced symptom levels of post-traumatic
stress and general psychological problems, and their mothers reported significant
reductions in the children’s behavioral problems. However, despite the statistically
significant results, the majority of children were unchanged following support,
and many children with clinical levels of problems at study entry continued to
have elevated symptoms following support. The same pattern, with significant
treatment effects at the group level of analysis, but more modest results at the
individual level of analysis, were found for the self-rated mental health of mothers
subjected to IPV and their perceptions of their children’s behavioral problems
after they and their children attended concurrent 15-week group support
programs. The treatment results point to the need to monitor treatment progress
in order to detect those who are unchanged or even worsened during treatment.
As a group, children 9 to 13 years old who were exposed to IPV evidenced
lower quality of life and more recurrent health complaints than other Swedish
children in the same age range. However, there was great variability among the
children, and a large proportion of the children rated their quality of life to be
as good as other children of the same age and did not have recurrent symptoms
of headache, stomach-ache, or difficulties sleeping. Higher quality of life in
children was associated with higher attachment security to both parents, better
capacity for emotion regulation, and lower negative emotionality, whereas more
ii
recurrent health complaints were associated with higher exposure to IPV and
higher negative emotionality. These results point up the importance of looking at
the individual characteristics of children to better understand their adjustment
after exposure to IPV, and to determine the best factors to target in individual
interventions.
Parts of work
Grip, K., Almqvist, K. & Broberg, A. G. (2011). Effects of a Group-Based Intervention on Psychological Health and Perceived Parenting Capacity among Mothers Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): A Preliminary Study. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 81 (1):81-100.::doi::10.1080/00377317.2011.543047 Maternal report on child outcome after a community-based program following intimate partner violence (2012). Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 66(4):239-247.::doi::10.3109/08039488.2011.624632 Grip, K. Almqvist, K., Axberg, U. & Broberg, A.G. (In press). Children exposed to IPV and the reported effects of psychosocial interventions. To be published in Violence & Victims, 2013; 28 (2/3). Grip, K. Almqvist, K., Axberg, U. & Broberg, A.G. (Submitted). Attachment, emotion regulation, and emotionality: health and quality of life in children exposed to intimate partner violence.
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Health Care Sciences)
University
Göteborgs universitet. Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten
University of Gothenburg. Faculty of Social Sciences
Institution
Department of Psychology ; Psykologiska institutionen
Disputation
kl 10.00 i sal F1 Psykologiska Institutionen Göteborgs universitet
Date of defence
2012-10-12
karin_grip@bredband.net
karin.grip@psy.gu.se
Date
2012-09-17Author
Grip, Karin
Keywords
Intimate partner violence
Evaluation
Clinical significance
Children
Community-based service
Mothers
Publication type
Doctoral thesis
ISBN
978-91-628-8527-4
ISSN
1101-718X
Series/Report no.
Doctoral Dissertation
Language
eng