Fathering by Partner-Abusive Men: Attitudes on Children's Exposure to Interparental Conflict and Risk Factors for Child Abuse

• NCJ Number: 228061
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2009 Pages: 232-242
• Author(s): Emily J. Salisbury; Kris Henning; Robert Holdford
• Date Published: August 2009
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For other articles in this issue, see NCJ-228060 and NCJ 228062-65.

Annotation

This study examined how men arrested for spouse/partner abuse viewed the impact of such abuse on children present in the home, and it identified factors that may place the children of these men at risk for maltreatment.

Abstract

Of the 3,824 men involved in the study, 65.6 percent had some type of fathering role with underage children in the home; and in most cases, these relationships continued following their arrest. Although the majority of the men reported that their children had been exposed to interparental verbal and physical conflict, few of the men perceived that this exposure had an adverse impact on their children. In addition, risk factors for child maltreatment were prevalent in this population. Scores on the child Abuse Potential Inventory indicated that 48.7 percent of the men had a heightened risk for abusing children. The risk factors prevalent among the men included limited education, unemployment, marital dissatisfaction, substance abuse, and child behavioral problems. Results from this study and prior research show the importance of holistic, family-based models of assessment and intervention for families in which violence occurs between parents and/or between parents and children. Research continues to show the high prevalence of co-occurring aggression within families. Interventions that target only one form of aggression and ignore the broader complexity of interacting factors in family relationships may have limited effectiveness. Data for the study were obtained from court-ordered evaluations conducted with 3,824 men who had been recently convicted of a domestic offense against a female intimate partner. Variables measured pertained to demographic characteristics, the men's parenting role, children's exposure to conflict between parents, family history, satisfaction with their relationship with the partner, substance use, and child abuse risk. 3 tables and 43 references