Victim of and Witness to Violence: An Interactional Perspective on Mothers’ Perceptions of Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 830-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solveig Karin Bø Vatnar ◽  
Stål Bjørkly

This article reports a study of how mothers perceive the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy and children’s exposure to IPV: (a) Do interactional aspects of IPV have a negative impact on the fetus during pregnancy or on the newborn baby? and (b) Is there a relationship between interactional aspects of IPV and (a) children’s risk of being exposed to IPV and (b) the age of the child when at risk for exposure to IPV? A representative sample of 137 IPV help-seeking mothers in Norway was interviewed. Severity of physical IPV and injury from sexual IPV increased the risk of consequences to the fetus. Frequency of physical and psychological IPV increased the likelihood of children’s exposure. Duration of the partnership increased the risk of children’s exposure to physical and sexual IPV. Finally, there was a negative linear association between children’s age when exposed for the first time and frequency of physical and psychological IPV.

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solveig Lelaurain ◽  
Pierluigi Graziani ◽  
Grégory Lo Monaco

Abstract. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global social concern: many women are affected by this phenomenon and by the difficulty of putting an end to it. This review of the literature aims to identify help-seeking facilitating and inhibiting factors in response to IPV. It was carried out on the PsycINFO and Medline databases using the following keywords: “intimate partner violence,” “domestic violence,” “help-seeking,” and “help-seeking barrier.” Ninety out of 771 eligible publications were included on the basis of inclusion criteria. The results highlight that (1) research on this phenomenon is very recent and underdeveloped in Europe, (2) theoretical and conceptual frameworks are poorly developed and extended, (3) there is a significant impact of violence characteristics (e.g., severity, type) on help-seeking, and (4) help-seeking is a complex and multifactorial process influenced by a wide range of factors simultaneously individual and social. To conclude, these findings lead us to propose a psychosocial conceptualization of the help-seeking process by indicating how the levels of explanation approach in social psychology can be applied to this field of research in order to increase our understanding of this phenomenon.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlene Walker ◽  
Kimina Lyall ◽  
Dilkie Silva ◽  
Georgia Craigie ◽  
Richelle Mayshak ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Heather Phillips ◽  
Eleanor Lyon ◽  
Elizabeth E. Krans ◽  
Carole Warshaw ◽  
Judy C. Chang ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Birna Thorvaldsdottir ◽  
Sigridur Halldorsdottir ◽  
Rhonda M. Johnson ◽  
Sigrun Sigurdardottir ◽  
Denise Saint Arnault

Abstract Background Even though traumatization is linked to substantially reduced health-related quality of life, help-seeking and service utilization among trauma survivors are very low. To date, there has not been available in Iceland a culturally attuned, self-reported measure on help-seeking barriers after trauma. This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the English version of Barriers to Help-Seeking for Trauma (BHS-TR) scale into the Icelandic language and context. Methods The BHS-TR was culturally adapted following well-established and rigorous guidelines, including forward-backward translation, expert committee review, and pretesting through cognitive interviews. Two rounds of interviews with 17 female survivors of intimate partner violence were conducted using a think-aloud technique and verbal probing. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, a combination of deductive and inductive approaches. Results Issues with the BHS-TR that were uncovered in the study were classified into four categories related to general design, translation, cultural aspects, and post-trauma context. The trauma-specific issues emerged as a new category identified in this study and included concepts specific to trauma experiences. Therefore, modifications were of great importance—resulting in the scale becoming more trauma-informed. Revisions made to address identified issues improved the scale, and the process led to an Icelandic version, which appears to be semantically and conceptually equivalent to the original version; additionally, the results provided evidence of content validity. Conclusions As a cognitive interview study, it adds to the growing cognitive interviewing methodology literature. Furthermore, the results provide essential insights into the self-report response process of trauma survivors, highlighting the significance of making health-related research instruments trauma-informed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110358
Author(s):  
Hannah M. Clark ◽  
Andrew C. Grogan-Kaylor ◽  
Maria M. Galano ◽  
Sara F. Stein ◽  
Sandra A. Graham-Bermann

Executive functioning (EF), or a set of related cognitive skills that facilitate goal-oriented behavior, is a critical aspect of adaptive development. Mounting research indicates that exposure to environmental threats during the preschool years jeopardizes EF; however, the extent and mechanisms through which early exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) influences children’s EF are unknown. Using data from an eight-year longitudinal investigation of mothers who had experienced IPV and their preschool-aged children (N = 120), this study examined the relative influence of recent and remote IPV exposure on speeded control—a component of EF influenced by processing speed—in late childhood. Results indicated that preschoolers’ IPV exposure had a significant negative impact on their speeded control eight years later, and this relation was mediated by the remote effects of IPV on their mothers. Specifically, IPV was positively associated with maternal depression, which in turn contributed to greater use of negative parenting strategies when children were of preschool age. Children’s IPV exposure during late childhood was not predictive of their concurrent speeded control. These findings lend further evidence to the notion that the preschool years are a sensitive period for the mastery of EF skills and that IPV exposure is a distinct risk factor that can have protracted effects on children’s cognitive development. Further, this study points to modifiable environmental risk factors, which, through targeted prevention and intervention efforts, could promote EF across the lifespan.


2021 ◽  
pp. 107780122110001
Author(s):  
Ran Hu ◽  
Jia Xue ◽  
Xiying Wang

In China, women who domestically relocate from rural or less developed regions to major cities are at a higher risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) than their non-migrant counterparts. Few studies have focused on Chinese domestic migrant women’s help-seeking for IPV and their use of different sources of support. The present study aimed to identify factors that influence migrant women’s help-seeking decisions. In addition, we also examined factors that contribute to migrant women’s use of diverse sources of support for IPV. A sample of 280 migrant women victimized by IPV in the past year at the time of the survey was drawn from a larger cross-sectional study conducted in four major urban cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Using a multinomial logistic regression model and a zero-inflated Poisson model, we found that factors influencing migrant women’s help-seeking decisions and their use of diverse sources of support included socioeconomic factors, IPV type, relationship-related factors, knowledge of China’s first anti-Domestic Violence Law, and perception of the effectiveness of current policies. We discuss implications for future research and interventions.


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