Growing Up with Intimate Partner Violence at Home: Adolescents' Narratives on Their Coping Strategies.

Purpose: The research on adolescents who have grown up around intimate partner violence (IPV) between their parents or caregivers has mostly focused on adolescent's victimization experiences and the negative impact of this type of violence on their mental health. More research is needed on how they respond to these experiences. The aim of this study is to understand adolescents' coping strategies regarding IPV between their parents or caregivers, from their perspectives. Methods: The participants were ten adolescents between 12 and 17 years old (4 female and 6 male), users of protection programs in Chile. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, using thematic narrative analysis afterward. Results: The results show seven coping strategies: intervention, social support seeking, protective role, positive resignification, hypervigilance, escape-avoidance, and denial. The narratives of the adolescents indicate that they face not only specific episodes of IPV but also the consequences and family dynamics that accompany this type of violence. Conclusion: Adolescents' coping strategies can be organized in a continuum of IPV integration-distancing, based on the degree and form of involvement in the experience. Growing up with IPV at home demands an early development of the sense of agency and taking a position in the face of violence, transitioning between active and victim roles.

Identidad personal en niños y adolescentes: estudio cualitativo / Personal identity in children and adolescents: a qualitative study / Identidade pessoal em crianças e adolescentes: estudo qualitative

Resumen (analítico) La construcción de identidad personal es un proceso evolutivo. Escasas investigaciones estudian este proceso en la infancia. El objetivo de esta investigación es describir la construcción de identidad personal de niños y adolescentes entre 6 y 18 años, desde un enfoque constructivista evolutivo. Se realiza un análisis temático de narrativas autobiográficas escritas por 119 niños y adolescentes. Los resultados se organizaron en torno a tres dimensiones de la identidad personal: unidad de identidad, integración de identidad, integración con otros; observándose que desde la infancia hay un reconocimiento personal, luego se integran diferentes eventos vitales significativos y en la adolescencia se complejiza su construcción, incorporando mayor reflexión y aspectos ideológicos. Se discuten implicancias para favorecer un desarrollo adaptativo de la identidad en todas las edades, validando diversidad de opciones.

Abstract (analytical) Construction of personal identity is a developmental process. Few research investigates this process in children. The research objective is to describe the personal identity construction of children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years old, from a developmental constructivist approach. Thematic analysis of autobiographical narratives written by 119 children and adolescents is performed. Results were organized around the three personal identity dimensions: unity of self, integration of self and integration with others. Results show from childhood there is a personal recognition, then different significant life events are integrated, and in adolescense this construction becomes more complex, integrating more reflection and ideological aspects. Implications are discussed to promote an adaptive development of identity through lifespam, validating a diversity of options.

Resumo (analítico) A construção da identidade pessoal é um processo evolutivo. Poucas pesquisas investigam esse processo na infância. O objetivo desta pesquisa é descrever a construção da identidade pessoal de crianças e adolescentes entre 6 e 18 anos, a partir de uma abordagem construtivista evolutiva. É realizada uma análise temática das narrativas autobiográficas escritas por 119 crianças e adolescentes. Os resultados foram organizados em torno de três dimensões da identidade pessoal: unidade de identidade, integração de identidade, integração com os outros; e mostram que desde a infância há um reconhecimento pessoal, logo diversos acontecimentos significativos da vida são integrados, e na adolescência sua construção torna-se mais complexa, incorporando mais reflexão e aspectos ideológicos. As implicações para promover o desenvolvimento adaptativo da identidade em todas as idades são discutidas, validando a diversidade de opções.

Growing up in the context of intimate partner violence: Experiences and meanings for adolescents in Chile.

BACKGROUND: Growing up in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with a range of mental health problems in childhood. A recent area of research in this field considers the perspectives of children and adolescents in understanding the phenomenon of IPV. OBJECTIVE: To explore the lived experiences of adolescents growing up in the context of IPV and the meanings they construct about the phenomenon. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Ten adolescents (five females and five males), between 12 and 17 years old, who were attending psychosocial programs specialized in child maltreatment in Santiago, Chile. METHODS: The data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and thematic narrative analysis. RESULTS: The results show that many of the adolescents narrate their lived experiences of severe and chronic episodes of IPV as part of their life story, and that they continue to do so even after their parents separate. It was also found that the adolescents suffered other forms of victimizations, such as physical and sexual abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents growing up in the context of IPV are demonstrated to be not only direct victims of violence but also active agents capable of reflecting on it. The implications of children and adolescents participating in such investigations for the development of effective interventions in IPV are also discussed.

The co-occurrence of intimate partner violence exposure with other victimizations: A nationally representative survey of Chilean adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have found a high co-occurrence between Intimate Partner Violence exposure (IPVe) and other forms of victimization, such as physical and sexual abuse, yet little is known about this issue from community samples in Latin America or -in particular- Chile. OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence, sociodemographic correlates and co-occurrence of IPVe with other youth victimizations in Chile. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A secondary data analysis of the First Poly-victimization Survey in Children and Adolescents in Chile was conducted, which had 19,684 responses from 7th to 11th grade students attending publicly-funded, subsidized and independent schools in urban areas across the country. METHODS: The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire was applied, and sociodemographic information was collected. Multiple logistic regression models were used. RESULTS: The prevalence of lifetime IPVe was 13.0 % (95 % CI [12.4-13.6]), and 3.6 % (95 % CI [3.4-4.0]) for past-year IPVe. The factors that were positively associated with lifetime IPVe were: female, over 14 years old, indigenous ethnicity, with a disability, mother with immigrant status, living with only one parent, and attending publicly-funded and subsidized schools. Most of these associations were maintained for past-year IPVe. All victimizations studied were positively associated with lifetime and past-year IPVe. Poly-victimization, maltreatment and witnessing sibling abuse showed the strongest associations (adjusted OR > 4.0). Co-occurrence was particularly high among IPVe youth, especially for community violence (86.2 %) and any maltreatment (81.5 %) in lifetime reports. CONCLUSIONS: An integrated approach to assessing IPVe and other forms of victimizations would enrich research and clinical practice, especially early detection of IPVe occurrences.

A Qualitative Account of Children's Perspectives and Responses to Intimate Partner Violence in Chile.

The literature has shown that including children's perspectives in intimate partner violence (IPV) field research will improve our understanding of this violence and its impact on the well-being of victims. Furthermore, the literature suggests that children are not passive witnesses. Rather, they use a variety of strategies to cope with IPV. The aim of this research is to understand the experiences and coping strategies of children who have lived through IPV between their parents/caregivers. The participants of this study were nine children between the ages of 8 and 12 years (five girls and four boys). These participants were recruited from a specialized program in Chile focused on the maltreatment of children. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and a thematic narrative analysis was used to identify recurring themes from the interviews. The results showed that children used a variety of coping strategies when an episode of violence was occurring. The aim of these coping strategies included the following: (a) emotional and behavioral self-regulation, (b) seeking social support, (c) avoiding emotional reactions related to IPV episodes, (d) escaping violent episodes, and (e) intervening to stop the IPV and protect their mothers. Along with these coping mechanisms, the results reveal that children often not only have to confront IPV when it is present in their families but are also potentially subjected to other types of victimization. The findings of this study highlight that children are active subjects with agency in response to episodes of IPV and respond through a range of actions and coping mechanisms. The researchers emphasize the relevance of integrating and validating the voices of children in research, given that children are direct victims of IPV and a high-risk group for other types of child victimization.

Multiple mediators of the relationships among maternal childhood abuse, intimate partner violence, and offspring psychopathology.

The aim of the study was to examine whether maternal depression, mothers' and fathers' parenting, child physical punishment and negative life events (NLE) mediate the effect of maternal childhood abuse (CA), intimate partner violence (IPV) and cumulative violence (both CA and IPV) on Spanish children's and adolescents' psychopathology. Furthermore, multiple mediator models examine whether IPV mediates the effect of CA on the contextual and family factors mentioned above. Three hundred and eighteen Spanish outpatients aged 7 to 18 and their parents were assessed using a structured interview and other instruments for measuring the study variables. Structural equation models (SEMs) showed multiple pathways explaining psychopathological problems among offspring of mothers who suffered CA, IPV and both of these violent experiences. In particular, mothers' depression mediated the link between maternal CA, IPV, cumulative violence and children's externalizing, and total behavior problems. Child NLE was an important pathway between maternal CA and total behavior problems, as well as between cumulative violence and both externalizing and total problems. IPV contributed to explaining the link between maternal CA and contextual and family factors, such as child physical punishment and NLE, which were in turn, associated with children's behavior problems. Findings show the complex interconnections between different types of violence and their harmful effects on the mental health of women and their offspring, as well as the need to extend our knowledge on this subject.

Maternal childhood abuse, intimate partner violence, and child psychopathology: the mediator role of mothers' mental health.

This study examined the mediator role of mothers' mental health in the relationship among maternal childhood abuse (CA), intimate partner violence (IPV), and offspring's psychopathology, and explored whether mediational pathways were moderated by children's sex. Participants were 327 Spanish outpatient children, 8 to 17 years old, and their mothers. Mothers' global psychological distress and depressive symptoms mediated the associations between mothers' violence history and children's externalizing problems. However, only depressive symptoms fully mediated these relationships. Children's sex did not have a moderating role in adjusted paths. Mothers' depressive symptoms are an important mechanism by which maternal violence experiences could affect externalizing problems in Spanish children.

Maternal experiences of childhood abuse and intimate partner violence: Psychopathology and functional impairment in clinical children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: The current study examined the independent effects of mothers' childhood abuse (CA) and intimate partner violence (IPV) on psychopathology and functional impairment in children; and the potential moderating and mediating role of individual and family factors in these relationships. Additionally, this study explored the potential cumulative effects of both maternal CA and IPV on children's outcomes. METHOD: The sample included 547 Spanish children and adolescents aged between 8 and 17 years, and their parents, who had accessed mental health services. The assessment was based on structured interviews with the children and their parents. Statistical analyses were carried out through hierarchical multiple, negative-binomial and logistic regressions, and Structural Equation Models. RESULTS: Children whose mothers experienced CA and those whose mothers suffered physical IPV showed increased DSM-IV disruptive disorders and externalizing behavior problems, respectively. Children who directly observed physical IPV and also suffered physical punishment by parents showed increased internalizing problems. IPV had effects, either direct or indirect by physical punishment, on children's externalizing problems. Cumulative effect analyses indicated that the prevalence of disruptive disorders was highest in children whose mothers had suffered both CA and IPV. CONCLUSION: Spanish children whose mothers have suffered CA, IPV or both, are at high risk of serious conduct problems, whereas children exposed to IPV and who were also physically abused are at greater risk of internalizing problems. Physical punishment of children contributes in part to explain externalizing problems of IPV-exposed children. These findings indicate potential targets of assessment and intervention for families seeking help in mental health services.