Abstract
In recent years, interventions have been developed to meet the needs of children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV). This study explores and analyses processes of participation during counselling as described by 29 children who had received community-based intervention for children exposed to IPV. The results of the analysis show how participation processes in the different phases of the intervention are related to three prerequisites for children actually receiving the intervention offered, namely (1) the child getting in contact with the unit, (2) the child starting the intervention process, and, because the intervention is directed at their experiences of IPV, and (3) the child actually talking about the violence. The implications of these results are used to discuss children’s willingness and reluctance to talk about IPV during interventions in which talking about their experiences is thought to be of therapeutic value.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersson, G. (1998). Barnintervju som forskningsmetod [Child interview as research method]. Nordisk Psykologi, 50(1), 18–41.
Arnell, A., & Ekbom, I. (2000). “Then he kicked Mummy…” interviewing children who have witnessed violence in the family. Stockholm: Save the Children.
Broberg, A., Almqvist, L., Axberg, U., Grip, K., Almqvist, K., Sharifi, U., et al. (2011). Stöd till barn som upplevt våld mot mamma—Resultat från en nationell utvärdering [Support to children who have witnessed violence against their mothers—Results from a national evaluation study]. Göteborg: Göteborgs Universitet.
Cater, Å. K. (2009). Trappan-modellen för samtal med barn som upplevt våld i familjen—en utvärdering för metodutveckling [The Stairs-model for talking to children who have experienced violence in their family—An evaluation for method development]. Regionförbundet Uppsala län FoU-rapport 2009/3.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Iyengar, S. (2011). Community treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder for children exposed to intimate partner violence. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 165(1), 16–21.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., Murray, L. K., & Igelman, R. (2006). Psychosocial interventions for maltreated and violence-exposed children. Journal of Social Issues, 62(4), 737–766.
Cox, C., Kotch, J., & Everson, M. (2003). A longitudinal study of modifying influences in the relationship between domestic violence and child maltreatment. Journal of Family Violence, 18(1), 5–17.
Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (2006). Interparental discord, family process, and developmental psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 3: Risk, disorder, and adaptation (2nd ed., pp. 86–128). New York: Wiley.
Edleson, J. L. (1999). Children’s witnessing of adult domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 839–870. doi:10.1177/088626099014008004.
Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R. K., & Turner, H. A. (2007). Poly-victimization: A neglected component in child victimization. Child Abuse and Neglect, 31, 7–26.
Franklin, B. (1997). The ladder of participation in matters concerning children. In J. Boyden & J. Ennew (Eds.), Children in focus: a manual for participatory research with children. Stockholm: Grafisk Press.
Geffner, R., Spurling Igelmann, R., & Zellner, J. (2003). The effects of intimate partner violence on children. Binghamton, NY: Hayworth.
Graham-Bermann, S. (2001). Designing intervention evaluations for children exposed to domestic violence: Applications of theory and research. In S. Graham-Bermann & J. L. Edleson (Eds.), Domestic violence in the lives of children: The future of research, intervention, and social policy (1st ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
Graham-Bermann, S. A., Kulkarni, M. R., & Kanukollu, S. N. (2011). Is disclosure therapeutic for children following exposure to traumatic violence? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(5), 1056–1076. doi:10.1177/0886260510365855 (Epub 6 May 2010).
Greig, A., & Taylor, J. (1999). Doing research with children. London: Sage.
Hamby, S., Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., & Ormrod, R. (2010). The overlap of witnessing partner violence with child maltreatment and other victimizations in a nationally representative survey of youth. Child Abuse and Neglect, 34, 734–741. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.03.001.
Hart, R. (1992). Children’s Participation: From tokenism to citizenship. Florence: UNICEF International Child Development Centre.
Herrenkohl, T. I., Sousa, C., Tajima, E. A., Herrenkohl, R. C., & Moylan, C. A. (2008). Intersection of child abuse and children’s exposure to domestic violence. Trauma Violence Abuse, 9, 84–99. doi:10.1177/1524838008314797.
Hook, A., & Andrews, B. (2005). The relationships of non-disclosure in therapy to shame and depression. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 325–438.
Howell, K. H. (2011). Resilience and psychopathology in children exposed to family violence. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 16(6), 562–569. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2011.09.001.
Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15, 1277–1288. doi:10.1177/1049732305276687.
Hubble, M. A., Duncan, B. L., & Miller, S. D. (2000). The heart and soul of change: What works in therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
Jaffee, S. R., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Taylor, A., & Arseneault, L. (2002). Influence of adult domestic violence on children’s internalizing and externalizing problems: An environmentally informative twin study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(9), 1095–1103.
Jouriles, E. N., McDonald, R., Spiller, L., Norwood, W. D., Swank, P. R., Stephens, N., et al. (2001). Reducing conduct problems among children of battered woman. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69(5), 774–785.
Korkman, J., Santtila, P., Westeråker, M., & Sandnabba, N. K. (2008). Interviewing techniques and follow-up questions in child sexual abuse interviews. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 5(1), 108–128. doi:10.1080/17405620701210460.
Levendosky, A., Huth-Bocks, A., Shapiro, D., & Semel, M. (2003). The impact of domestic violence on the maternal–child relationship and pre-school-age children’s functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 275–288. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.17.3.275.
Lieberman, A. F., van Horn, P., & Ippen, C. G. (2005). Towards evidence-based treatment: Child–parent psychotherapy with preschoolers exposed to marital violence. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(12), 1241–1248.
Mullender, A. (2006). What children tell us: ‘He Said He Was Going to Kill Our Mum’. In C. Humphries & N. Stanley (Eds.), Domestic violence and child protection—Directions for good practice. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Mullender, A., Hague, G., Imam, U., Kelly, L., Malos, E., & Regan, L. (2002). Children’s perspectives on domestic violence. London: Sage.
Øverlien, C., & Hydén, M. (2009). Children’s actions when experiencing domestic violence. Childhood, 16(4), 479–496.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Prinz, R. J., & Feerick, M. M. (2003). Next steps in research on children exposed to domestic violence. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6, 215–219.
Ragg, M. D., & Webb, C. (1992). Group treatment for the preschool child witness of spouse abuse. Journal of Child and Youth Care, 7(1), 1–19.
Shirk, S. R., & Karver, M. (2003). Prediction of treatment outcome from relationship variables in child and adolescent therapy: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(3), 452–464.
Silverman, D. (2000). Doing qualitative research—A practical handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sinclair, R. (2004). Participation in practice: Making it meaningful, effective and sustainable. Children and Society, 18, 106–118. doi:10.1002/CHI.817.
Sinclair, R., & Franklin, A. (2000). Young people’s participation. In Quality protects research briefing. London: Department of Health.
Skopp, N. A., Manke, B., McDonald, R., & Jouriles, E. N. (2005). Siblings in domestically violent families: Experiences of interparent conflict and adjustment problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(2), 324–333.
Thomas, N. (2007). Towards a theory of children’s participation. International Journal of Children’s Rights, 15, 199–218.
Treseder, P. (1997). Empowering children and young people: Training manual: Promoting involvement in decision-making. London: Save the Children.
Turner, H. A., Finkelhor, D., & Ormrod, R. (2010). Poly-victimization in a national sample of children and youth. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 38(3), 323–330.
UNICEF FACT SHEET: The right to participation. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from www.unicef.org/crc/files/Right-to-Participation.pdf.
Wagar, J. M., & Rodway, M. R. (1995). An evaluation of a group treatment approach for children who have witnessed wife abuse. Journal of Family Violence, 10(3), 295–306.
WHO. (2002). World report on violence and health. Genève: World Health Organization.
Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C. V., Lee, V., McIntyre-Smith, A., & Jaffe, P. G. (2003). The effects of children’s exposure to domestic violence: A meta-analysis and critique. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6, 171–186. doi:10.1023/A:1024910416164.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by a Grant from the Uppsala Regional Council in Sweden. This support does not necessarily imply endorsement by the funder of research conclusions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cater, Å.K. Children’s Descriptions of Participation Processes in Interventions for Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 31, 455–473 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-014-0330-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-014-0330-z