Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Siblings in domestically violence families: experiences of interparent conflict and adjustment problems
Other Titles:	Journal of family psychology
Authors:	Manke, Beth Jouriles, Ernest N McDonald, Renee Skopp, Nancy A
Keywords:	Counselling;Impact on children and young people;Early intervention;Risk factors
Year:	2005
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
Citation:	19 (2), 2005
Notes:	General Overview: This US article presents research that looks at whether siblings in domestically violent families differ in experiences of interparent conflict and whether such differences are associated with differences in children’s adjustment. Discussion: Implications for understanding the link between domestic violence and child problems as well as theorising on the impact of high risk environments are discussed. The findings suggest that interparent conflict in domestically violent homes is not an equally shared or family-wide risk factor in the development of children’s adjustment problems but instead, each child responds to the experience in a unique way. This highlights the importance of children’s unique experiences of their families and suggests understanding the variables that shape a child’s experience of interparent conflict beyond the conflict itself is required. Individual differences in temperament and coping skills may also have some influence. Implications for clinical practice are discussed. The findings indicate that the practice of routinely referring all children in a domestically violent family to a treatment program may not be cost effective. It calls for individual assessments of children and then adapting clinical interventions toward the specific needs of each child. Results:,: Cross-sibling correlations for experiences of interparent conflict in domestically violent families are found to be low to moderate. Sibling differences in threat appraisals are associated with sibling differences in internalising problems. Sibling differences in self blame appraisals are found to be associated with differences in internalising and externalising problems. The direction of the associations indicates that the sibling who felt more threatened or more at fault (self blame) also experienced more adjustment problems. Conclusion: The results suggest the importance of individually assessing children’s experiences and tailoring interventions for them individually. Adequate assessment of children’s appraisals of threat and self blame may also give useful information when helping children to develop coping skills and safety strategies.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/12816
ISSN:	8933200
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

Items in ANROWS library are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.