Family Violence

Coexistence of Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment among Adolescents in Kosovo Abstract High levels of domestic and intimate partner violence are continuously reported in Kosovo, and child maltreatment by parents is common. This study explores the coexistence of intimate partner violence and child maltreatment and its association with sociodemographic factors. A sample of 208 Kosovar adolescents was assessed using the Conflict Tactic Scale and the Parent-Child Conflict Tactic Scale. The results showed interplay between experiencing intimate partner violence and witnessing violence between parents. The hierarchical logistic regression results showed that adolescents exposed to psychological intimate partner violence had a higher chance of experiencing psychological aggression and corporal punishment by their parents, when controlling for sociodemographic factors (gender, average grades, parents’ education, number of sisters/brothers, and financial income). The findings foresee the necessity of comprehensive approaches to family violence phenomena that affect family members, including parents and children. They indicate the importance of considering poly-victimization in the assessment and prioritization of such cases.

Developing Assessments for Child Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence in Switzerland – a Study of Medico-Legal Reports in Clinical Settings Abstract Evidence to inform assessment of needs of children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) in health settings is limited. A Swiss hospital-based medico-legal consultation for adult victims of violence also detects children’s exposure to IPV and refers cases to the Pediatrics Child Abuse and Neglect Team. Based on a conceptual ecological framework, this study examined the nature and circumstances of children’s exposure to IPV described in accounts collected by nurses in consultations with adult IPV victims. From 2011 to 2014, 438 parents (88% female) of 668 children aged 0 to 18 sought medico-legal care from the Violence Medical Unit in Lausanne Switzerland following assaults by intimate partners (85% male). As part of the consultation, nurses completed a semi-structured questionnaire with victimized parents, recording their answers in the patient file. Victims’ statements about the abuse, their personal, family and social contexts, and their children’s exposure to IPV were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic content analyses were conducted to identify, from the victimized parents’ accounts, elements useful to understand the nature and circumstances of children’s exposure and involvement during violent events. Parent statements on specific violent events described children being present in 75% of the cases. Children were said to be exposed to, and responded to, severe physical violence, serious threats and insults, in the context of repeated assaults and coercive control. Families, especially mothers, were often coping with additional socio-economic vulnerabilities. Implications for further developing assessments of children living with IPV, especially in health settings were identified.

School and Child Protection Services Professionals’ Views on the school’s Mission and Responsibilities for Children Living with Domestic Violence – Tensions and Gaps Abstract The purpose of the work presented here was to study how the Swedish compulsory school, identifies and acts relative to the social problem of children living with domestic violence. More specifically: how do the various professional groups in school and professionals within the child protection services (CPS) describe and understand their own and other professionals’ responsibilities and tasks with respect to children living with domestic violence? The study consisted of 10 focus groups whose members were taken from five professional groups in schools and the CPS in Sweden. The results show that professionals in school lack knowledge about living with domestic violence, one example of which is child abuse. They navigate through the large open space that exists between the pedagogic and psychosocial missions of schools, and use different strategies to interpret the child’s symptoms of maltreatment. They point at an unclear distribution of responsibility between different professionals in school, which can be interpreted as a tension between domains within the institutional school domain. They also point at a “gap” between the school and CPS domains, and find confidentiality to be an obstacle to collaboration. Furthermore, the article sheds light on the complexities, the conflicting understandings, and the different priorities of the different professionals and institutions working with children living with domestic violence. It also discusses practical implications of the results.

This is Abuse?: Young Women’s Perspectives of What’s ‘OK’ and ‘Not OK’ in their Intimate Relationships Abstract This Welsh study explored young women’s understandings of what it means to have a healthy relationship, including the negotiations of their identity and behaviour within their intimate relationships. This study was completed in seven schools in North Wales. An attitudinal questionnaire (n = 220) was used in order to explore their gendered attitudes, followed by a series of semi-structured interviews with 25 young women aged 15–18, focused on evaluating their experiences of intimate relationships, including the impact of everyday forms of harassment and abuse experienced in schools and beyond. The results indicate that there was a general resistance to, and justification of, somewhat subtle forms of coercion, harassment and control. The findings from the questionnaire and the interviews diverge; however, the journey on both paths reveals an image of young women unable to draw on a narrative of choice in order to assert their voices, their individual needs or negotiate their pre-determined relationship script. Overall, the young women lacked the power to operationalise their egalitarian attitudes in order to engage in relationships that adhere to the description of what they expect, want or desire within a ‘healthy relationship’. This study contributes to the debate on how young women negotiate the conflicts inherent in the contemporary constructions of gender and intimate relationships. The findings suggest the importance of a comprehensive educational approach, with young people focused on promoting gender equality and healthy relationships.

Children Exposed to Violence: Child Custody and its Effects on Children in Intimate Partner Violence Related Cases in Hungary Abstract Violence might increase post-separation, and visitation can offer an opportunity to the perpetrator for maintaining power and control over the mother and child. In relationships where intimate partner violence (IPV) exists, it is hypothesized that fathers may continue their violent behaviors throughout visitation with children. The study uses mixed methods: After completing of a screening questionnaire (n = 593) we recruited 168 individuals from our sample with problematic child custody cases who completed an online survey. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 mothers with experience of problematic child custody cases. This paper reports only the qualitative results of the research. The findings highlight how custody and visitation rights may be used as a form of custodial violence and a continuation of IPV. Problematic child custody and visitation cases were reported following separation from an abusive partner because using legal proceedings as a weapon to maintain power and control over the former partner and child. Institutions involved in custody and contact-related legal procedures do not take into consideration the violence of the abusive ex-partner as a factor when determining custody and contact arrangements, even though it may work in opposition to the child’s wellbeing. The analysis of the data shows that child custody and visitation arrangements did not reflect clear understanding of domestic violence, coercive control and the effects of these on children’s wellbeing. Fathers were reported to be able to control the everyday lives of their ex-partners and their children through lack of institutional recognition of domestic violence.

The Impact of Physical Abuse & Exposure to Parental IPV on Young Adolescents in Poland: a Clinical Assessment and Comparison of Psychological Outcomes Abstract This study explores characteristics of youth who experienced domestic violence in Poland. Specifically, young adolescents who were victims of physical abuse perpetrated by parents and young adolescents who were exposed to parental intimate partner violence (IPV) were studied to determine whether the groups had similar or different psychological outcomes. Additionally, the study looked into ways by which these youth cope with stress and demonstrate self-efficacy. Data were collected from 90 youth aged 11 to 14 years using quota sampling; 30 were victims of physical abuse, 30 were victims of exposure to parental IPV, and 30 were members of a comparison group. Parents gave written consent for participation while adolescents provided verbal assent and subsequently completed questionnaires. Analyses revealed that adolescents who experienced physical abuse showed higher levels of trait anxiety and outwardly directed anger, and a lower sense of self-efficacy, than adolescents exposed to IPV. In contrast, those exposed to parental IPV exhibited a lower level of trait anxiety, a higher level of inwardly directed anger, and a greater sense of strength and perseverance. No statistically significant differences existed between groups in terms of coping with stress. The findings suggests that adolescents experiencing different types of family violence victimization may have different outcomes, which could call for differential treatment. Future research should more closely examine victims of physical abuse and exposure to IPV in Poland to see if findings hold. This would help clinicians recognize outcomes associated with different experiences and tailor appropriate strategies.

Honor-Based Violence in Sweden – Norms of Honor and Chastity Abstract This article investigates the nature of honor-related domestic violence as experienced by 11 young female victims (aged 16–20) with non-Swedish-born parents. It examines what forms of violence are involved and how they are related to each other and looks at the differences and similarities to non-honor-related domestic violence. Qualitative, individual interviews were made with young women who, when in contact with counselors, mid-wives or social workers, said that they were living with restrictions over their social life and sexuality with some level of control imposed by another person. Accordingly, it is young women’s subjective assessment of their experience which defined their inclusion in this study. The analysis has been a recursive process with a theory-oriented approach that uses Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence as a theoretical lens. The participants belonged to patriarchal families in a particular cultural/religious community and lived under various types of coercive control. For the participants, the core concept of the family norms was twofold: honor and firm demands for chastity. There was a strong link between the restrictions they experienced and their vulnerability to various forms of violence, alongside accounts of strong emotional ties between father and daughter, in most cases. The participants’ scope for action was affected irrespective of they were physically abused or not. The findings contribute to an initial understanding of how nonviolent controlling behaviors affect young women’s scope for action and highlight daughters’ vulnerable situation in a patriarchal family.

European Research on Children, Adolescents and Domestic Violence: Impact, Interventions and Innovations Abstract The second European Conference on Domestic Violence (ECDV) was held in Porto, Portugal in September 2017. Given the interest in and focus on children and adolescents at both the first and second ECDV, and the identified need to gather research and researchers working in the field of children and domestic violence in Europe, the JOFV made a call for a special issue on European research on children, adolescents and domestic violence. The call has resulted in this double issue of 17 articles which comment on research conducted across Europe, authored from differed scientific backgrounds and reflecting diversity in topics and methods. The work reflects not only how far we have come in Europe on developing research based knowledge on children and domestic violence, but it has also has played an important role in identifying multiple gaps and address needs for the future..

Physical Violence in Family Sub-Systems: Links to Peer Victimization and Long-Term Emotional and Behavioral Problems Abstract Although childhood violence by any person is negative for children, little is known about whether violence by different family members is linked differently to problems in young adulthood, as family relationships might play different roles in children’s individual development. In this study, we examine parent and sibling violence and associations with emotional and behavioral problems, directly and indirectly via peer victimization. We used retrospective reports from 347 young adults (aged 20–24) who all reported childhood family physical violence, and we performed a path analysis using Mplus. The results showed that participants who had been victimized by a sibling only or by both a sibling and parent were more likely to report peer victimization than were participants who had been victimized by parents only. Peer victimization was, in turn, linked to more aggression, criminality, and anxiety. Theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.

What Do Adolescents Believe About Performing and Accepting Intimate Partner Violence Behaviors? A Reasoned Action Approach Abstract Intimate partner violence against adolescent girls is of increasing political and social concern. This paper presents formative research on the reasoned action approach (RAA) to the prediction of boys’ perpetration and girls’ acceptance of four psychologically abusive behaviors. Our objectives were: (1) to identify the behavioral and normative modal beliefs behind males’ performance and girls’ acceptance of the behaviors and (2) to explore the relationship between attitudes, perceived social norm, intention and behavior. A total of 479 adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age completed questionnaires on the performance (boys) or acceptance (girls) of a specific behavior. We used a grouping process to identify modal beliefs and carried out eight exploratory multiple regression analysis (one per behavior) to study attitude and social norm as predictors of intention and behavior. Positive and negative behavioral beliefs coexist in boys’ and girls’ minds, which can reflect an unclear positioning against abusive behaviors. Positive outcomes seem to be influenced by socialization processes and love myths. Peers can be a risk factor whereas parents are a protective factor against the performance and acceptance of these behaviors. Results showed significant relationships between the constructs in the sense specified by the model. Prevention programs could benefit by: managing participants’ individual behavior, intervening separately with boys and girls, overcoming adolescents’ confusion regarding these behaviors, and targeting parents as a means of discouraging their performance and acceptance. The RAA appears a useful tool for explaining and predicting the performance and acceptance of abusive behaviors.