Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T15:36:40.044Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Behavioural and Social Functioning of Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Pilot Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Clara Bookless-Pratz  and
Peter Mertin
Clara Bookless-Pratz
Affiliation:
Finders University School of Medicine, Finders Medical Centre, Bedford Park S.A. 5042
Peter Mertin
Affiliation:
CAMHS Central Team. Mitchell House Clinic, 18 Fitzroy Terrace, Prospect S.A. 5082
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

It is now established that there is a relationship between domestic violence and emotional and behavioural disorders in children, with research suggesting that childhood exposure to domestic violence can adversely affect both present mental health as well as adult life. The private setting and nature of such violence makes accurate estimations of the extent of the problem difficult. Such figures that have emerged however, indicate that domestic violence is occurring on a chronic repetitive basis. Elbow states that the violent family is characterized by rigid sex roles, the use of violence to control others, poor communication patterns, isolation both within and outside the family, and the inability to accept responsibility for actions. It is also suggested that the dysfuctional patterns of the violent marriage impair the ability of the parents to meet the developmental and emotional needs of their children.

Type
Domestic Violence
Information
Children Australia , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , 1990 , pp. 4 - 7
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Emery, R.E. (1982) Interparental conflict and the children of discord and divorce. Psychological bulletin. Vol. 92, No. 2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2. Carlson, B.E. (1984) Children's observations of interparental violence. In Roberts, A.R. (ed) Battered Women and their Families. Springer Publishing, N.Y. Google Scholar
3. Gelles, R.J. (1972) The Violent Home: A Study of physical aggression between husbands and wives. Beverley Hill, Calif. Google Scholar
4. Dobash, R.E. and Dobash, R.P. (1979). Violence against wives: A case against the patriarchy. The Free Press, N.Y. Google Scholar
5. Scutt, J. (1983) Even in the best of homes. Penguin, Australia.Google Scholar
6. Elbow, M. (1982) Children of violent marriages: the forgotten victims. Social Casework Vol. 63, No. 8.Google Scholar
7. Rhodes, R.M. and Zelman, A.B. (1986). An Ongoing Multi Family Group in a Women's Shelter. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Vol. 56, No. 1.Google Scholar
8. Hilberman, E. and Munson, K. (1977–1978). Sixty battered women. Victimology Vol. 2, Nos. 3-4.Google Scholar
9. Hughes, H.M. and Barad, S.J. (1983) Psychological Functioning of Children in a Battered Women's Shelter. A preliminary investigation. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Vol. 53, No.2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Achenbach, T.M. and Edelbrock, C. (1983) Manual for the Child Behaviour Checklist. Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington.Google Scholar
11. Jaffe, P., Wolfe, D., Wilson, S. and Zak, C. (1986). Family Violence and Child Adjustment: A comparative analysis of girls' and boys' behavioural symptoms. American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 143, No. 1.Google Scholar
12. Jaffe, P. Wolfe, D., Wilson, S., and Zak, L. (1986) Similarities in Behavioural and Social Maladjustment among Child Victims and Witnesses to Family Violence. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Vol. 56, No. 1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. Achenbach, T.M. and Edelbrock, C. (1983). Op. Cit.Google Scholar
14. Piers, E., and Harris, D. (1969) Manual for the Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale: Tennessee: Counsellor Recordings and Tests.Google Scholar
15. Collins, L.C., Kafer, N.F. and Shea, J.D. (1985) The Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale: An Australian Study. Australian Psychologist, Vol. 20, No. 2.Google Scholar
16. Emery, R.E. and O'Leary, K.D. (1982) Children's Perceptions of Marital Discord and Behaviour Problems of Boys and Girls. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Vol. 10, No. 1.Google Scholar
17. Wolfe, D.A., Zak, L., Wilson, S. and Jaffe, P. (1986). Child witnesses to violence between parents: Critical issues in behavioural and social adjustment. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Vol. 14, No. 1.Google Scholar
18. Wolfe, D.A. et al (1986) Op. Cit.Google Scholar
19. Jaffe, P. et al (1986) Op. Cit.Google Scholar
20. Rhodes, R.M. and Zelman, A.B. (1986) Op. Cit.Google Scholar