Jeffrey L. Edleson

Children's Witnessing of Adult Domestic Violence

Social service professionals are more frequently identifying children who witness adult domestic violence as victims of that abuse. This article expands common definitions of how children witness adult domestic violence. A total of 31 research articles that met established quality criteria were included in this review. A variety of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive-functioning problems among children were found to be associated with exposure to domestic violence. Factors that appear to moderate the impact of witnessing violence—such as whether the child was also abused, child gender and age, and the time since last exposure to violence—were identified. Concerns about research methodology used in this area of research and the application of this knowledge also are raised.

The Overlap Between Child Maltreatment and Woman Battering

Societal responses to child maltreatment and to woman battering have developed in separate and sometimes conflicting ways. It is only in recent years that greater attention has been devoted to the possible overlap between child maltreatment and woman battering in the same families. Thirty-five studies conducted over the past 2½ decades that mentioned an overlap between child maltreatment and adult domestic violence in the same families were identified. These studies are reviewed and their strengths and weaknesses identified. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications these findings have for practice, policy, and research.

Domestic violence in the lives of children : the future of research, intervention, and social policy

Issues and Controversies in Documenting the Prevalence of Childrens Exposure to Domestic Violence - Ernest N. Jouriles, Renee McDonald, William D. Norwood, and Elizabeth Ezell Long-Term Effects of Childrens Exposure to Domestic Violence - B. B. Robbie Rossman Resilience in Children Exposed to Domestic Violence - Honore M. Hughes, Sandra A. Graham-Berman, and Gabrielle Gruber Studying the Co-Occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Woman Battering in Families - Jeffrey L. Edleson Ethically Sound Research on Childrens Exposure to Domestic Violence: A Proposal - Einat Peled Overcoming Mother Blaming? Future Directions for Research on Mothering and Domestic Violence - Lorraine Radford and Marianne Hester Fatherhood and Domestic Violence Exploring the Role of Men Who Batter in the Lives of their Children - Oliver Williams, Jacqueline Bogess, and Janet Carter Domestic Violence and High-Conflict Divorce: Developing a New Generation of Research for Children - Peter G. Jaffe, Samantha Poisson, and Alison Cunningham Researching Childrens Experience of Domestic Violence: Toward a Multidimensional Conceptualization - Zvi C. Eisikovits and Zeev Winstok Critical Issues in Research on Social Networks and Social Supports of Children Exposed to Domestic Violence - Sandra K. Beeman Designing Intervention Evaluations for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Applications of Research and Theory - Sandra A. Graham-Bermann Evaluating Coordinated Community Responses for Abused Women and Their Children - Cris M. Sullivan and Nicole E. Allen Prevention of Domestic Violence: Emerging Initiatives - David A. Wolfe and Peter G. Jaffe

Ending the cycle of violence : community responses to children of battered women

PART ONE: LIVING IN A VIOLENT CULTURE Introduction - Einat Peled, Peter G Jaffe and Jeffrey L Edleson Learning to be Violent - Myriam Miedzian PART TWO: SHELTERS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROGRAMS Assessment Following Violence-Witnessing Trauma - William Arroyo and Spencer Eth Individual Psychotherapy for the Traumatized Children of Abused Women - Louise Silvern, Jane Karyl and Toby Y Landis Process and Outcome in Small Groups for Children of Battered Women - Einat Peled and Jeffrey L Edleson Empowering Battered Women as Mothers - Joan Bilinkoff Parenting Groups for Men Who Batter - David J Mathews Advocacy for Children of Battered Women - Honore M Hughes and Michele Marshall PART THREE: CHILD PROTECTION AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM How Abused Women Can Use the Law To Help Protect Their Children - Joan Zorza Child Protection Services for Children of Battered Women - Carole Echlin and Larry Marshall Practice and Controversy Doing More Harm Than Good? Some Cautions on Visitation Centers - Martha McMahon and Ellen Pence PART FOUR: PREVENTION AND EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES Teach Your Children Well - Denise Gamache and Sarah Snapp Elementary Schools and Violence Prevention Violence Prevention Programs in Secondary (High) Schools - Marlies Sudermann, Peter G Jaffe and Elaine Hastings Strategies To Address Violence in the Lives of High Risk Youth - David A Wolfe et al Aboriginal Canadian Children Who Witness and Live with Violence - Claudette Dumont-Smith Conclusion - Einat Peled, Peter G Jaffe and Jeffrey L Edleson

Young Children's Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence: Towards a Developmental Risk and Resilience Framework for Research and Intervention

This article employs a developmental risk and resilience framework to examine the impact of exposure to intimate partner violence on young children, particularly those facing economic hardship. In doing so, it reviews and weaves together two separate literatures, one on emotional and behavioral development in high-risk settings and the other on children exposed to adult domestic violence. The article ends by pointing to the need for further research and the promise that early interventions hold for helping children who are exposed to intimate partner violence and living in poverty.

Intervening with Men Who Batter: A Critical Review of the Literature

This article reviews the published research on intervention with men who batter. It analyzes the literature at five levels of intervention: individual, couple, mens group, institution, and culture. Intervention at each of these levels is then examined in terms of theoretical orientations, intervention techniques, and outcomes. We conclude that the current state of knowledge about intervention is inadequate and in need of theories, interventions, and evaluations based on multilevel explanations of battering.

How Children Are Involved in Adult Domestic Violence: Results From a Four-City Telephone Survey

There is limited research available on children’s involvement in incidents of adult domestic violence. This study collected direct reports on real-life events and went beyond earlier research by eliciting information on a larger array of family and contextual factors that may account for variation in children’s responses. Anonymous telephone interviews with 114 battered mothers in four metropolitan areas elicited detailed information from women on their children’s responses to the violence being committed against the mothers. One quarter of the mothers reported that their children were physically involved in the events. In addition, mothers with less stable financial, social, and living situations at the time of the interview reported their children to have intervened more during the past violent incidents. The article concludes with recommendations for a greater emphasis on careful assessment of children’s involvement in domestic violence incidents and on assisting mothers to achieve economic stability as well as safety.

The Combined Effects of Coordinated Criminal Justice Intervention in Woman Abuse

During the past 2 decades, the criminal justice system has significantly changed its response to battered women and their assailants. These changes are, in part, being encouraged by newly established community intervention projects (CIPs) across the United States. This study reports the findings of victim interviews and archival data concerning incidents of woman abuse that came to the attention of the Minneapolis police and were referred to a CIP. The results for samples monitored over a 6- to 12-month period tend to support the use of arrest on first police visits to the home and subsequent action by the courts that includes ordering perpetrators into treatment.

The Effects of Group Treatment for Men Who Batter: An 18-Month Follow-Up Study

Social workers, psychologists, and other mental health professionals are increasingly offering services to men who batter their women partners. This article describes the results of an experiment comparing three types of brief treatment groups offered in two differing intensities to batterers. Of 283 men who were randomly assigned to one of the six treatment conditions, 153 completed 80% or more of the assigned sessions. Eighteen-month follow-up interviews were conducted with 70 program completers or their partners. The results indicated that short-term, relatively structured group treatment tended to produce the most consistent successful results compared to an earlier study. Mens involvement with the courts and their lack of prior mental health treatment predicted lower levels of violence at the 18-month follow-up.

Case Assessment and Service Receipt in Families Experiencing Both Child Maltreatment and Woman Battering

Professional attention to families experiencing both child maltreatment and woman battering has increased in recent years. This study examined data for 172 families—95 families for which police had filed child abuse incident reports and adult domestic assault incident reports, and 77 other families for which police had filed child maltreatment reports but had no documentation of domestic assaults. Exploring differences between the two groups of families, the authors found that dual-violence families were more likely to include an unrelated male in the household, to involve a neglect allegation, and to include perpetrator substance abuse. Child protection workers assessed dual-violence families to be at higher risk and were more likely to open the case for child protection services. Among open cases, however, dual-violence families received fewer services but were more likely to be referred to the county attorney. These findings and their implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed.