Abstract
This article presents results of a study examining what happens to children when domestic violence is committed against their mothers. While many investigations have pointed to child exposure to violence in homes where women are battered, few have examined direct reports about what happens to children when adult domestic violence occurs. This study collected direct reports from mothers on real-life events and was designed to go beyond earlier research by eliciting information on a larger array of family and contextual factors that may account for variation in mother’s and their children’s direct and indirect exposure to violence within the same home. Anonymous telephone interviews with 111 battered mothers in four metropolitan areas across the United States elicited detailed information from women on the violence against them and their children. Findings confirm the seriousness of co-occurring mother and child exposure to violence. The research also revealed that women and children were often injured while trying to protect each other from the abuser. The article concludes by recommending further enhancing collaboration between child protection and battered women’s services; augmenting prevention and early intervention services to families experiencing adult domestic violence; and focusing on protecting and increasing the safety of both children and their battered mothers.
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Notes
Copies of the interview guide used in this study are available by writing to the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, 105 Peters Hall, 1404 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108.
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Acknowledgement
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station (MIN-55-019) supported this research. The authors wish to thank the staff of the Domestic Abuse Project, Inc. in Minneapolis, La Opportunidad in St. Paul, the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, the Support Network for Battered Women in Mountain View, CA, and the Family Place in Dallas for their collaboration in this study.
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Copies of the interview guide used in this study are available by writing to the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, 105 Peters Hall, 1404 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108.
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Mbilinyi, L.F., Edleson, J.L., Hagemeister, A.K. et al. What Happens to Children When Their Mothers Are Battered? Results from a Four City Anonymous Telephone Survey. J Fam Viol 22, 309–317 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9087-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9087-x