The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children's Perceptions of their Perpetrating and Nonperpetrating Parents

Abstract

The Family Relations Test was completed by 8 to 12-year-old children in order to assess the effects of various types of domestic violence on children's perceptions of their parents, all of whom were living with their children at the time of the study. Thirty-three of the children had been physically abused by their parents within the last 6 months, 16 had witnessed spouse abuse, 30 had been both victims and witnesses of domestic violence, and 31 of the children had experienced no known domestic violence. Groups were matched with respect to socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Physically abused children more frequently reported negative perceptions of their perpetrating parents, but perceived nonabusive parents similarly to children in the comparison group. Children in the four groups did not differ with respect to the number of positive attributes assigned to their parents. In sum, children who experienced different types of domestic violence discriminated between positive and negative aspects of their relationships with their parents and had different perceptions of perpetrating and nonperpetrating parents.