Children Exposed to Interparental Violence: A Study of Portuguese Children from 7-9 Years of Age

Abstract

Introduction: Exposure to interparental violence is a type of child maltreatment linked to a higher risk of physical and mental health problems. This research considers the experiences of young Portuguese children exposed to interparental violence. The goal is to explore the associations between interparental conflict in children, their perceptions of conflict properties, threat, self-blame, and the relationship with their parents. Method: The research protocol was applied to 888 Portuguese children between 7 and 9 years of age, of whom 123 are victims of interparental violence. Results: The results showed that witnessing interparental conflict is positively correlated with children’s self-blame and insight into conflict properties and negatively correlated with children’s insight into the parent-child relationship. Conclusion: These results provide strong support for the hypothesis that witnessing interparental conflict is associated with adverse outcomes in young children. Findings highlight the importance of identifying children exposed to interparental conflict in order to develop appropriate intervention programmes.

Domestic Violence Victimization Risk Assessment in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

“…The World Health Organization [WHO] (2022) defines child abuse as the "perpetration of physical, sexual and psychological/emotional violence and neglect of infants, children and adolescents aged 0-17 years by parents, caregivers and other authority figures, most often in the home but also in settings such as schools and orphanages" (p. 2). Research on children's exposure to domestic violence confirms the negative impact of this experience on their overall adjustment , with signs and symptoms manifesting through emotional, cognitive, physiological, behavioral, and social problems of different severity, in the short, medium or long term (Almeida et al 2022;Artz et al 2014). Over time, it has been proven that victimization due to exposure to domestic violence is a risk factor for the development of internalizing and/or externalizing problems (Malta et al 2019;Sani 2006), such as depressive symptoms (Lv and Li 2023;Sá et al 2009;Ximenes et al 2009), a lack of self-control, impulsive behaviors (Barboza and Dominguez 2017;Pesce 2009) or substance use (Maia and Barreto 2012;Malta et al 2019).…”