NCJ Number
107887
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1987) Pages: 278-291
Date Published
1987
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study of the children of battered women indicates that intervention with these children, half of whom were themselves abused, should become a professional priority.
Abstract
Seventy-eight mothers and their children were interviewed at five domestic violence shelters in upstate New York. The children's sample included 34 preschoolers, 32 school-age children (ages 6-11), and 11 adolescents (ages 12-16). The primary research instrument was the Child Behavior Checklist, designed to be completed by parents in providing individual profiles on the behavioral problems and social competencies of their children aged 4-16. Children who both witnessed spousal abuse and were themselves abused had significantly lower social competence scores than the children who only witnessed spousal abuse. This contrasts with the Jaffe et al. study (1986), which found no differences among such child groups on social competence. The current study also found that children who both witnessed and experienced abuse had significantly more problems on the internalizing dimension of the scale than did the children who only witnessed abuse. In the Jaffe study, the two groups differed only on the externalizing scale. Both studies agree, however, that witnessing violence and being its victim both are related to the extent of behavioral problems exhibited by children, with some evidence that being both a witness and a victim has more serious consequences for the child. Serious effects are influenced by the gender and age of the child. Appropriate intervention through shelters and schools is warranted. 2 tables and 20 references. (Author abstract modified)