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Profiles of Children’s Thinking About Violence in Families Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

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Abstract

Intimate partner violence remains a pervasive and common social problem. Evidence indicates that children witness many instances of intimate partner violence. However, the structure of children’s thinking about family violence is still not well understood. This research employed latent profile analysis to identify underlying latent profiles of children’s thinking about violence using the Attitudes and Beliefs About Violence Scale. The analysis identified two latent profiles mostly differentiated by children’s beliefs about whether or not victims of violence deserve to have violence inflicted upon them. Several covariates differentiated members of the two profiles. Suggestions for intervention and practice are included.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation and the Office of the Provost, University of Michigan, Global Challenges for a Third Century grant. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the granting agencies.

Author Contributions

A.G.K.: conceptualized the study, conducted the data analyses, and wrote the paper. S.S.: collaborated with the writing of the study, and editing of the final manuscript. H.C.: collaborated with the writing of the study, and editing of the final manuscript. M.G.: collaborated with the writing of the study, and editing of the final manuscript. S.G.B.: collaborated with the design and writing of the study, and editing of the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Andrew C. Grogan-Kaylor & Sara F. Stein

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Sara F. Stein, Hannah M. Clark, Maria M. Galano & Sandra A. Graham-Bermann

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  1. Andrew C. Grogan-Kaylor
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  2. Sara F. Stein
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  3. Hannah M. Clark
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  4. Maria M. Galano
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  5. Sandra A. Graham-Bermann
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Correspondence to Sara F. Stein.

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Conflict of Interest

Professors Andrew Grogan–Kaylor and Professor Sandra Graham–Bermann received the Office of the Provost, University of Michigan, Global Challenges for a Third Century grant for this research. Professor Sandra Graham-Bermann received a grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation for this research. Professor Andrew Grogan-Kaylor declares that he has no conflict of interests. Professor Sandra Graham–Bermann declares that she has no conflict of interests.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Grogan-Kaylor, A.C., Stein, S.F., Clark, H.M. et al. Profiles of Children’s Thinking About Violence in Families Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence. J Child Fam Stud 26, 2824–2833 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0787-4

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