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MARSHALL
UNIVERSITY SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT
DR. SHAWN KING, PhD, SOCIAL WORK 340
BSW PROGRAM
RESEARCH PAPER
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of
SWK 340 – Research Proposal
Angela Davis
Fall 2011
Date Submitted: September 29, 2011
DR. SHAWN KING, PhD, SOCIAL WORK 340
BSW PROGRAM
RESEARCH PAPER
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of
SWK 340 – Research Proposal
Angela Davis
Fall 2011
Date Submitted: September 29, 2011
INTRODUCTION
TO RESEARCH PROPOSAL
This research proposal will explore domestic abuse in households in West Virginia and the influence and the affects it has on the children whom live in those homes in West Virginia. This research will address the question whether or not the trauma is more or less intense if both parents in the home are the child/children’s biological parents or if one of the adults in the house is a step-parent, and is that child treated worse because of the abuse and the fact that he or she is not the abusers biological child. The other issue addressed will be what type of help can be provided to those children to help them in their future live and to become productive citizens in the community and prevent them from any future suffering from what they witnessed and the aggression and anxiety they must feel due to the situation they were in and how they were victimized by the abuse, either physically or emotionally.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Foulkrod and Davenport (2010) in their empirical data found children who were currently living in homes where domestic abuse is prominent. They performed this examination through “play therapy”. They have worked with many children who were having issues with aggression and oppositional issues by using play therapy. In the article Foulkrod and Davenport define Play Therapy as “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optional grown and development”. Foulkrod & Davenport 2010, p. 145. Play therapy gives the child the ability to express their feelings and make them feel as though they are being heard by someone of power who understands what they are feeling and has that individual also has the ability to give them resolution to their problems.
Once the researchers confirmed their study they targeted children who were presenting with problems with aggression and oppositional behaviors. Although it is a problem for the children to externalize their feelings at this time, it is even more dangerous for them to internalize those feeling later in life and possibly be at risk for those same problems to return to the surface causing the individual to have more serious problems when they are older. With this is in mind the researchers felt it was more important for the children to gain assistance at a young age rather than to wait until later when the problem could be much worse. With all this information in mind it is impertinent that the therapeutic interventions are very important for those children with extreme behavior problems.
This research proposal will explore domestic abuse in households in West Virginia and the influence and the affects it has on the children whom live in those homes in West Virginia. This research will address the question whether or not the trauma is more or less intense if both parents in the home are the child/children’s biological parents or if one of the adults in the house is a step-parent, and is that child treated worse because of the abuse and the fact that he or she is not the abusers biological child. The other issue addressed will be what type of help can be provided to those children to help them in their future live and to become productive citizens in the community and prevent them from any future suffering from what they witnessed and the aggression and anxiety they must feel due to the situation they were in and how they were victimized by the abuse, either physically or emotionally.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Foulkrod and Davenport (2010) in their empirical data found children who were currently living in homes where domestic abuse is prominent. They performed this examination through “play therapy”. They have worked with many children who were having issues with aggression and oppositional issues by using play therapy. In the article Foulkrod and Davenport define Play Therapy as “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optional grown and development”. Foulkrod & Davenport 2010, p. 145. Play therapy gives the child the ability to express their feelings and make them feel as though they are being heard by someone of power who understands what they are feeling and has that individual also has the ability to give them resolution to their problems.
Once the researchers confirmed their study they targeted children who were presenting with problems with aggression and oppositional behaviors. Although it is a problem for the children to externalize their feelings at this time, it is even more dangerous for them to internalize those feeling later in life and possibly be at risk for those same problems to return to the surface causing the individual to have more serious problems when they are older. With this is in mind the researchers felt it was more important for the children to gain assistance at a young age rather than to wait until later when the problem could be much worse. With all this information in mind it is impertinent that the therapeutic interventions are very important for those children with extreme behavior problems.
The
researchers agree with Campbell, Olson, Bates, Sandy, and Lanthier. (2000),
regarding the factors linking to child’s aggressive and oppositional
behaviors being discussed by separating the issues into different categories,
(i.e., family, environment and that child’s variables). However, the researcher
states the different categories cannot be completely separated due to the fact
that each of those categories have a direct link to the child and therefore,
the participant should be able to address each category without feeling as
though they are separate topics, because sometimes in their mind they are all
one big problem and they feel it has to all be addressed.
Spatz,
(1989) discovered that the total instances of violent crimes and/or domestic
violence has been viewed as the most common form of abuse. In a United
States Department survey performed in (1980) their statistics show domestic
violence is currently in almost 13% of all marriages in the United States and
of the 13% reported, there is an estimated 1.2 million occurrences of violence
among relatives. An even more disturbing statistic is that in the most
recent survey 1,200 children died in 1986 as result of the abuse and neglect
occurring in their household. And, there are 1.4 to 2.3 million children
have been beaten up by their parent at some time during their childhood.
The problem is the mental, emotional and physical injuries those children
sustain are not something that is easily remedied.
In the
referenced article they found children learn behavior, at least by imitating
their parents actions, and, when they see multiple acts of abuse and violence
they learn to be aggressive and watching their parents and the aggressive
behavior they exhibit in front of him.
The researcher noted children who were exposed to multiple acts of violence seem to be less flexible and are resourceful in their reasoning of situations. Sometimes these problems are associated with other students at their school and their work. Spatz also noted there could possibly be a link between the physical abuse a child witnessed in their earlier life and those acts could result in the child developing aggressive behaviors and they even may accept aggression as a norm when it is in close proximity to their daily lives and relationships. The data obtained in the study suggested that a child who is victimized with such experiences suffer from a variety of aggressive and violent behavior problems. While performing the study researchers noted that the participants had elevated levels of aggression and externalizing problems, especially in maltreated or physically abused children, Dodge, K., Bates, J., and Pettit, G. 1990. During play with peers the child participants exhibited higher ratings of aggression, fighting, meanness and antisocial behaviors and when the children were with adults such as a parent or teacher the participants exhibited higher aggression and externalizing scale. Researchers found that physically abused children have been found to have more difficulty with discipline while at school than the participants who were victims of neglect and emotional abuse, but, the participants who have been physically abused were found to be more prominent to disruptive behavior disorders.
In a study conducted by Holt, (2008) her research found that child victims of domestic violence are at a higher risk to experience different forms of behaviors and psychological problems including, but not limited to, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, and possibly developing emotional and behavioral problems with increased instances of domestic violence within their home and the impact of the violence continues even after the child is no longer living within the domestic violent situation. Holt also found that the children who had witnessed the abuse where more apt to have a very strong attachment to their mother.
The researcher noted children who were exposed to multiple acts of violence seem to be less flexible and are resourceful in their reasoning of situations. Sometimes these problems are associated with other students at their school and their work. Spatz also noted there could possibly be a link between the physical abuse a child witnessed in their earlier life and those acts could result in the child developing aggressive behaviors and they even may accept aggression as a norm when it is in close proximity to their daily lives and relationships. The data obtained in the study suggested that a child who is victimized with such experiences suffer from a variety of aggressive and violent behavior problems. While performing the study researchers noted that the participants had elevated levels of aggression and externalizing problems, especially in maltreated or physically abused children, Dodge, K., Bates, J., and Pettit, G. 1990. During play with peers the child participants exhibited higher ratings of aggression, fighting, meanness and antisocial behaviors and when the children were with adults such as a parent or teacher the participants exhibited higher aggression and externalizing scale. Researchers found that physically abused children have been found to have more difficulty with discipline while at school than the participants who were victims of neglect and emotional abuse, but, the participants who have been physically abused were found to be more prominent to disruptive behavior disorders.
In a study conducted by Holt, (2008) her research found that child victims of domestic violence are at a higher risk to experience different forms of behaviors and psychological problems including, but not limited to, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, and possibly developing emotional and behavioral problems with increased instances of domestic violence within their home and the impact of the violence continues even after the child is no longer living within the domestic violent situation. Holt also found that the children who had witnessed the abuse where more apt to have a very strong attachment to their mother.
In a study conducted by Rhodes, the researchers spoke with the parents of the children who had been affected by the domestic violence. The statements made by the parents were very conflicting. They felt the children not only inhibited them from leaving the abusive relationship and the effects the violence had on them they still felt the need to stay and keep their family together as a unit. They also indicated the main reason they did not seek assistive services that they feared the possibility of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHR) would become involved and they would risk loss of their children. Rhodes (2010) stated they would need to do additional research to be able to understand why mothers are having such a problem with regard to the wellbeing of their children and the abusive situation they are in and the effects that abuse is having on their children.
I will now be focusing on what needs to be done to assist these children with their anger and aggression. In a study performed by Willis, D., Grace, P.J., and Roy C. (2010), via focus groups and used adults who were victims of domestic violence, but, also used the children in the focus group as well. Willis’ main question while doing this study was to find out what form of help the children and adults were receiving post victimization and to get the information regarding the adult and child victims in their household.
What Willis found was the frequency and severity of domestic violence and the fact that a great deal of children who live in homes with domestic violence are witnesses to the violence and/or the abuse whether it be physical or emotional. The focus group also revealed that the children who are witnesses to the domestic violence in their household range from 3.3 million and can increase up to 10 million. Of those children who have witnessed the violence most were younger than 6 years of age and approximately 17% of the children were 12 to 17 years of age. Willis also found that children who grew up in violent homes learn about violence in interpersonal relationships and some of those children even viewed the violence as a part of love.
While doing this study the researcher had the ability to have the children function adequately despite their considerable adversity and he felt intervention would be helpful for both the adults and children in each situation. He proposed that the children engage in complex interplay and through parent-child psychotherapy. During his observation of the interventions found that the individual interventions with the younger children would focus on play while the older children would focus more on cognitive restructuring, problem solving, safety planning and violence education. At the conclusion of the study both the adults and the adolescent children were asked what type of programs would be helpful and they said they felt it would be very helpful for the children to have more counselors at the school who are equipped to work with children who have witnessed domestic violence.
In conclusion, although it is very upsetting that any child should have to endure any form of domestic abuse, physical or emotional abuse in their lifetime, it is just as upsetting that the children in those situations are not getting the assistance they need to have better lives as they become adults.
References
Davenport, B. R., & Bourgeois, N. M. (2008). “Play, aggression, the preschool child, and the
family: A review of literature to guide empirically-informed play therapy with aggressive
preschool children.” International Journal of Play Therapy, 17, 2–23.
Dodge KA, Bates JE, Pettit GS. (1990) “The Effects of Family and Community Violence on
Children. Mechanisms in the cycle of violence.” Science 250:1678–83.
Foulkrod, K. Brackenridge Hospital, Austin, Texas and Davenport, B., St. Mary’s University (2010). “International Journal of Play Therapy: An Examination of Empirically Informed Practice Within Case Reports of Play Therapy with Aggressive and Oppositional Children.” International Journal of Play Therapy, 19, (3), pp. 144-158.
Holt, S., Buckleu, H, Whelan & Whelan, Sadhbh, Children's Research Centre, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, School of Social Work & Social Policy, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, Children's Research Centre, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. (Aug, 2008). “The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: A review of the literature.” Child Abuse & Neglect, 32(8), pp. 797-810.
Rhodes, Karin, Cerulli, Catherine, Dichter, Melissa, Kothari, Catherine & Barg, Frances. (April,
2010). I Didn’t Want to Put Them Through That”: The Influence of Children on Victim Decision-making in Intimate Partner Violence Cases. Springer Science Business Media.
Spatz, K., (1989). “Does Violence Beget Violence? A Critical Examination of the Literature.” American Psychological Association, Inc., Psychological Bulletin 106, pp.13-28.
Willis, D. G., Grace, P. J., & Roy, C. (2010). “Children who Witness Violence: What Services
Do they Need to Heal?” Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 31:552–560.
