Parenting in Fathers Who Have Exposed Their Children to Domestic Violence: Identifying Targets for Change

Abstract

In the aftermath of children's exposure to domestic violence, professionals are often rightly concerned about the extent and nature of fathers' ongoing relationships with their children. In addition to considering the extent and impact of fathers' past abuse, child welfare workers need to make judgments about whether he has become safer and more able to parent his children. We reviewed a range of literatures to identify changes in DV fathers that are predictive of father-child relationships that are free from abuse and predictive of healthy child outcomes. Hostile/over-reactive parenting and difficulties with co-parenting emerged as the most promising targets for change. Fathers' gender role stress, depression, and substance abuse were also identified as potentially important predictors of better child outcomes. Level of father involvement and father-child emotional closeness showed more complex relations to child safety and well-being and, as such, were not considered promising as general targets for parenting interventions with fathers who have exposed their children to domestic violence.

Panorama científico de la relación entre la violencia intrafamiliar y de género y la resiliencia familiar: posibilidades, retos y límites

“…Adicionalmente, la vifg no solo se observa como un comportamiento actual, también se destaca el historial de maltrato, abuso, violencia en las familias y la sobrevivencia (Ben-David & Jonson-Reid, 2017;LaBrenz, Dell, Fong, & Liu, 2019;Meng, Fleury, Xiang, Li, & D'arcy, 2018) o padres que han expuesto a sus hijos a violencia domestica (Scott, Thompson-Walsh, & Nsiri, 2018).…”

Breaking the cycle of intergenerational abuse: A qualitative interview study of men participating in a perinatal program to reduce violence

“…For victims, DVA can undermine a person's ability to provide the consistent, sensitive, and responsive caregiving that babies and young children need. For perpetrators, research indicates that fathers who are violent engage in poor parenting practices such as being physically punitive, rigid and manipulative, and show increased anger, hostility, and overreactivity in their parenting compared to fathers who are not violent (Perel & Peled, 2008; Scott, Thompson‐Walsh, & Nsiri, 2018). Moreover, fathers who are violent have been shown to be less sensitive and responsive to their children's needs, to show less affection, and to perceive their children more negatively (Holt, 2015; Stewart & Scott, 2014).…”

Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Older Adult Poverty: Mediating Role of Depression

“…As a result, they drift away from a good job and environment and are prone to falling into economic dilemma. Scott et al found that violent fathers will show greater anger in the process of raising children (30), profoundly affecting children's minds and growth, including harming their health, reducing their academic performance and endangering their existence as adults (31)(32)(33)(34). By contrast, according to attachment theory, a close relationship between the child and at least one caregiver is crucial for a positive emotional and social development (35).…”