Shelter Residents Research Articles

Children of Abused Women: I. Adjustment at Time of Shelter Residence

In this study, the individual and familial adjustment of a sample of 40 battered women and their children was compared with that of a sample of 40 community families. As expected, abused women were dramatically more distressed on a variety of measures than were community women. Significant but more modest differences were found between the groups of children studied. Both the sons and daughters of battered women received scores more than one standard deviation above the mean of the normative sample on both the internalizing and externalizing subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist, but elevated externalizing scores were also found for a community sample of boys from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. No between-group differences were found in regard to the children's perceived competence or IQ. While estimates of the risk for psychological difficulties among the children of battered women are similar to those obtained by other investigators, notably different findings regarding sex differences were obtained. (Abstract Adapted from Source: Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1987. Copyright © 1987 by the National Council on Family Relations) Domestic Violence Effects Psychological Victimization Effects Witnessing Violence Effects Witnessing Spouse Abuse Spouse Abuse Effects Children of Battered Women Child Witness Early Adolescence Middle Childhood Late Childhood Domestic Violence Shelter Child Adjustment Juvenile Witness Juvenile Adjustment Emotional Adjustment Violence Against Women Partner Violence 04-01

Emotional and physical health problems of battered women.

The present study focused on the emotional and physical health problems of battered women by comparing a sample of residents in shelters with a group of women in the community matched for family income, length of marriage, and number of children on the General Health Questionnaire. The results indicated that battered women report a significantly higher level of somatic complaints, anxiety, and depression. These effects tended to be associated with other life stressors and children with serious behavior problems. The implications of the study are discussed in terms of assessing the needs of battered women and their children as well as being vigilant for family violence as an etiological factor for other presenting problems.

Promoting changes in attitudes and understanding of conflict resolution among child witnesses of family violence.

Promoting changes in attitudes and understanding of conflict resolution among child witnesses of family violence.

Physician house call services for medically needy, inner-city residents.

To increase access to services, a non-profit, voluntary health agency was developed to provide on-site services to residents of hotels and night shelters in the Skid Road area of Portland, Oregon. From a hotel-based clinic site, volunteer physicians, nurses, and medical students make house calls. During the first 18 months, 1,184 evaluations were made, and 21 hotels and two shelters visited. Volunteers were well accepted by residents and served as members of case management teams. The additional benefits of such a program vis-a-vis extension of local government's mission and student education are discussed.

Child witnesses to violence between parents: critical issues in behavioral and social adjustment.

This study examined the impact of exposure to family violence on children's adjustment. Two groups of residents of shelters for battered women (current and former residents) were compared to a nonviolent control group. All three groups of mothers completed interviews and self-report questionnaires related to both their own and their children's adjustment. Children recently witnessing violence tended to have the lowest levels of social competence ratings, and their mothers reported the most health and emotional difficulties. Former residents of shelters experienced the highest level of family/social disadvantage. The results are discussed in the context of previous research findings, and implications for intervention programs are outlined.

Homeless persons and health care.

Health care is generally unavailable for the homeless. This heterogeneous group of men and women, including long-term street dwellers, residents of shelters, the chronically mentally ill, the economically debased, and alienated youth, are subject to a broad range of acute and chronic diseases, intensified by unsuitable living conditions, stress, and sociopathic behavior. Trauma, pulmonary tuberculosis, infestations, and peripheral vascular disease are common problems among the homeless; incomplete and fragmentary medical care permits exacerbation of chronic disorders. Outreach programs imaginatively constructed by teams of physicians, nurses, and social workers can effectively reestablish and maintain health services for these disenfranchised persons.

Negotiating Trouble in a Battered Women's Shelter

The treatment of battered women is discussed by examining the micro- and macropolitical forces impinging on the operation of a battered women's shelter. Funding agencies, other social services, and interpretive frameworks of staff members formed the organizational context of the micropolitical context. The women's troubles were negotiated at three major stages—intake, processing, and return to the shelter—and the major micropolitical features of this negotiation were a therapeutic ideology, the need for social control, interpersonal conflicts, and personal feelings. Criteria for evaluating and controlling the troubles of women were established in light of self work, the primary objective of shelter residence. Professional expertise was the justification for imposing staff's definitions. Women who rejected the demands of staff were labeled failures and held responsible for the problems they encountered as battered women.

A psychiatric profile of street people admitted to an emergency shelter.

During the winter of 1981-82 the City of Philadelphia operated an adult emergency shelter for two months. After reviewing the available records, the authors compiled a psychiatric profile of the 193 residents admitted to the shelter. They grouped the residents into three classes: habitual street people, the episodic homeless, and those who did not usually live on the street but were undergoing an acute crisis. Although a large number of the street people who suffered from diagnosable mental illness improved with adequate treatment, the authors found it was extremely difficult to relocate many of the shelter residents. They discuss other problems such as the need for psychiatric expertise in treating the homeless and the lack of coordinated effort among several city government departments.