| Description |
Intimate partner abuse is a major problem especially when there are children present. In attempt to stop the cycle of abuse, it is of critical importance to understand the impact children have on the relationships and the decision making process of those involved. I am conducting research to see if children affect the decision of their parent to either seek treatment while in an abusive situation or to decline seeking treatment. I am interested to see if children might affect the parent's decision to stay in the situation longer to make it work, or if they are apart of the motivation for the parent to leave and seek treatment. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with twenty-six victims of intimate partner abuse who sought services in Salt Lake City. In addition, information was collected on demographics, mental health, experiences with various types of abuse, involvement with criminal justice agents (if appropriate), and their satisfaction with the services they received. My hypothesis is that the parent will be more apt to leave the situation and seek treatment for the well being of his/her children as opposed to staying in the state of violence. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis were conducted. Initial analysis has revealed a few themes including those who left the situation because they wanted their kids to see better, those who stayed because of their kids but then left, those who left because their kids wanted them to leave, and those who left because DCFS stepped in. Implications for prevention and intervention in cases of intimate partner abuse will be discussed. |
