Children’s protective strategies in the context of exposure to domestic violence

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to explore children’s accounts of exposure to domestic violence and the strategies they used to protect themselves from such adversity. Convenience sampling included youth (N = 29), ages 7–16, who received mental health services at a rural victim-service provider. Child self-report measures were used to assess exposure and protective strategies. Children were most often exposed to verbal and physical abuse of mother, inter-parental disagreements, and the abuser’s destruction of property. Participants used a variety of strategies to escape, understand, safety plan, protect, and intervene among these types of abuse.