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Abstract
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The child whose mother is killed by his or her father has to cope with the trauma of violence, the grief associated with the loss of both parents simultaneously, dislocation and insecurity regarding where and with whom they will live, stigma, secrecy, and often massive conflicts of loyalty. These issues and how they affected the 28 children of 14 families in which the father had killed the mother are examined. Recommendations for practice based on this clinical experience are proposed.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this study by Black and Kaplan was to examine the traumatic effects a child experiences when his or her mother is killed by their father. Recommendations for practice based on this clinical experience are proposed.
METHODOLOGY:
A non-experimental case study design was employed. Authors reviewed cases in which children had seen their father kill their mother. Fourteen such cases, involving 28 children in all, were the focus of this study. The 28 children comprised 16 girls and 12 boys, ranging in age from 1 year 6 months to 14 years. The time of referral after the killing ranged from 2 weeks to 11 years, which reflects the range of different reasons for referral. 12 of the referrals came from social workers; one came from a general practitioner, and one came from a school nurse. Because of the heterogeneity and relatively small number of the sample, authors refrained from making generalizations. Instead, they described only those issues and problems that influenced their tentative recommendations for practice. A review of literature and qualitative data analysis were used.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Early crisis intervention, as a way to limit the severity of post traumatic stress disorder, was discussed. Intervention was found to help children to recount the traumatic events and their feelings in relation to them. Bereavement counseling was discussed as a useful way to combat complications in grief reaction due to the onset of PTSD. Findings suggested that a child stigmatized as the child of a killer would often suppress feelings of horror, rage, shame, and sadness. Furthermore, relatives of the children would often decide not to tell the child the true nature of their parent's death. As a result, the child was unable to make sense of their changed circumstances and the reactions of those around them, and therefore, unable to mourn their losses effectively. Author's hypothesized that there are two common mechanisms involved in the mourning process. First, because of the catastrophic nature of the loss, the child might use denial or splitting off of affect, which resulted in a failure to mourn. Also, because of the intense conflict inherent in their loss, the child might split the parents into one all good parent and one all bad parent. Findings also indicated that automatically placing the traumatized child in a relative's care might be a hasty and unwise decision. Often, the relatives were preoccupied with their own emotional responses to the killing of someone close to them and were emotionally unavailable to the children.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
On the intervention of the child psychiatry team, authors felt that all children who are deprived of two parents suddenly by one killing the other should be seen in a child psychiatric department for crisis intervention to minimize post-traumatic stress and for bereavement counseling by experienced and expert professionals. On care and control, in every case, wardship or full care orders should be sought until arrangements for permanent placement are completed. The authors argued that children should not be placed automatically with relatives, and placement with relatives, made as an ad hoc arrangement, should become permanent not by default but only after careful consideration and planning. Permanency planning should not necessarily be delayed pending the outcome of the father's trial. The authors argued that children should be freed for adoption if they would be grown up by the time father is released, or if they are too young to have a memory of, and relationship with, their father. The authors believed that access is the right of the child and in some case, visiting the father in prison may be therapeutic. Finally, authors suggested that a central information source should be established to provide advice so that cases can be dealt with optimally, and to collect and collate information systematically, to expand knowledge, evaluate practice, and improve intervention and management.
EVALUATION:
This study raises an often neglected issue in the effects violence has on innocent bystanders, in this case, children. The difficulties of the child were found to be compounded by the difficult and often unsatisfactory process for placement and counseling for the child as well as to the inadequate attention that has been given to the continued (or discontinued) relationship between child and father. The number of cases in this study was large, for an exploratory study, and offers a great deal of depth. Other research from a less clinical and more research-oriented perspective could add to this depth with a directed focus toward the views and behaviors of the child. A longitudinal design would be particularly illuminating. This study serves as an exploratory look at an issue which not only reflects the severity and extent of the impact of domestic violence in the present but which may have a tremendous impact in the future. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Spouse Abuse Effects
KW - Exposure to Violence
KW - Children of Battered Women
KW - Witnessing Spouse Abuse
KW - Witnessing Violence Effects
KW - Domestic Violence Effects
KW - Psychological Victimization Effects
KW - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
KW - Child Witness
KW - Father Offender
KW - Mother Victim
KW - Homicide Effects
KW - Violence Against Women
KW - Partner Violence
Language: en |