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Children’s Exposure to Partner Violence in Homes Where Men Seek Help for Partner Violence Victimization

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Abstract

In the last several decades, the field of family violence has paid increasing attention to children’s exposure to partner violence (CEPV). Most of this research has focused on the children of women seeking help for partner violence (PV) victimization. In this paper we examine exposure to PV among children of men who sought help for PV victimization (n = 408), as compared with children of men in a population-based sample (n = 666). We examined children’s exposure to psychological, physical, and sexual PV and also examined CEPV that is perpetrated by women, men, or both partners. The results show that CEPV is higher among children of helpseeking men than among children of men from the population-based sample, and that most of that PV is perpetrated by the female partner. We did not find differences in CEPV based in child age or gender. We discuss implications for the field of family violence professionals.

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Acknowledgments

The project described was supported by Grant Number 1R15HD071635 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NICHD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Bridgewater State University, 95 Burrill Ave, Bridgewater, MA, 02325, USA

    Emily M. Douglas

  2. Department of Psychology, Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA

    Denise A. Hines

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  1. Emily M. Douglas
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  2. Denise A. Hines
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Correspondence to Emily M. Douglas.

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Douglas, E.M., Hines, D.A. Children’s Exposure to Partner Violence in Homes Where Men Seek Help for Partner Violence Victimization. J Fam Viol 31, 515–525 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9783-x

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