Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Regenerating family: strengthening the emotional health of mothers and children in the context of intimate partner violence
Other Titles:	Advances in nursing science
Authors:	Merritt-Gray, Marilyn Ford-Gilboe, Marilyn Wuest, Judith
Keywords:	Leaving/Staying;Impact on children and young people;Counselling;Health;Theories of violence;Policy;Early intervention;Welfare;Legal issues
Year:	2004
Publisher:	Aspen Systems Corp
Citation:	27 (4), 2004
Notes:	Focuses on the emotional health of mothers and children as a result of leaving an abusive intimate partner relationship and compares the results of the authors’ work with that of other research which finds single-parent families to be deficient when compared with two-parent families. Research in two provinces of Canada introduces a ‘health-promotion process’, named regenerating family, which makes conscious endeavours to replace a destructive and chaotic environment with reflective, responsive, open and safe patterns of interaction in a predictable climate. Using ‘feminist grounded theory’ (simultaneous data collection and analysis influenced by basic tenets of feminist theory), it examines, from a family perspective (as opposed to a perspective of individuals’ recovery) the growth of diverse families - 40 mothers and 11 children, separated from an abusive environment from between one to twenty years previously. Discusses mothers’ perceptions of effects of violence and abuse on their witnessing children prior to leaving and the process of regenerating family after leaving; this consists of a range of strategies which are described. Results included the finding that leaving intimate partner violence does not necessarily bring an end to the intrusion and conflict in families’ lives; and that new patterns of interaction need to be and are established. As well, broader systems impact on families’ capacity to succeed in regenerating – helping-agencies’ policy and legal issues need to take into account the regenerating family as a whole rather than merely the individuals.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/16570
ISSN:	0161-9268
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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