Children’s Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence - 21/03/14

Doi : 10.1016/j.chc.2013.12.008

Harriet L. MacMillan, MD, MSc, FRCPC ^a,^b,^⁎ , C. Nadine Wathen, PhD ^c
^a Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
^b Department of Pediatrics, Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
^c Faculty of Information & Media Studies, The University of Western Ontario, 1152 Richmond Street, North Campus Building, Room 254, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada

^∗Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada.

Résumé

Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is now recognized as a form of child maltreatment associated with significant mental health impairment. This article provides an overview of the epidemiology of children’s exposure to IPV, including prevalence, risk, and protective factors and associated impairment, and a summary of assessment and interventions aimed at preventing its occurrence and responding to children and families. Information about evidence-based approaches to responding to children who present with impairment after exposure to IPV, such as posttraumatic-stress disorder symptoms, is discussed. Some of the challenges in understanding children’s needs with regard to safety and protection are outlined with recommendations for future directions.

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Keywords : Intimate partner violence, Child abuse, Spouse abuse, Mental disorders, Child welfare

Plan

Risk and Protective Factors

Impairment

Strategies for identifying and addressing IPV in the clinical setting

Identification and Assessment

Disclosure: Drs H.L. MacMillan and C.N. Wathen receive funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) and Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addictions (INMHA) to the PreVAiL Research Network (a CIHR Center for Research Development in Gender, Mental Health and Violence across the Lifespan – www.PreVAiLResearch.ca). H.L. MacMillan holds the Chedoke Health Chair in Child Psychiatry at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.