NCJ Number
175379
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 49 Issue: 1 Dated: March 1998 Pages: 30-39
Date Published
1998
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The records of 37 school-aged children whose mothers had sought help from a local battered woman's shelter were examined to determine the impacts of spousal abuse on children.
Abstract
The children ranged from 5 to 12 years old. The data came from a form completed during an intake with the child's mother, who listed areas of concern she had for her child. The form listed 202 problems in 11 areas: emotions, self, physical/play, school, language/thinking, concentration/organization, accidents/motor skills, behavior, values, habits, and health. Thirty of the children had experienced physical abuse; two had been abused by their mothers, and the others had been abused by their fathers. The other seven children had all witnessed their mothers' abuse. Nineteen victim-witnesses and 3 witnesses-only were female; 11 victim-witnesses and 4 witnesses-only were males. Results revealed that although the symptoms of the children who had only witnessed battering differed somewhat from those of the children who had witnessed abuse and been battered themselves, the significance of the damage justifies a redefinition of spouse abuse as a form of psychological child abuse. Figures, table, and 30 references (Author abstract modified)