In this research the prevalence, experiences and nature of child-to-mother violence from a high-risk geographical area were investigated. The aims of the study were to identify these factors within contemporary communities and develop validated recommendations for interventions to support affected mothers, children and families. This form of family pathology has been positioned within juvenile justice and medical models rather than family violence literature. It appears to be poorly understood, underreported and hidden from public view. Thus, it was difficult for some affected women to recognise what they were experiencing as abuse. In the literature, mothers were reported as the primary targets of violence and sons the predominant perpetrators. Incidence rates varied widely from samples collected 30 to 40 years ago. Other anomalies in the literature revealed power in mother-child relationships to be unclear, and the gender of targets of violence and perpetrators was not made explicit in the literature. In this study a mixed method design was used over four distinct phases: (1) development and validation of an instrument; (2) conducting a pilot study; and (3) population study; and (4) workshop with service providers. Psychometric tests on the instrument indicated a 0.97 correlation coefficient on a test re-test, and Cronbach’s alpha achieved correlation coefficient of 0.91 for the 24 item scale and 0.99 correlation coefficient for the 17 item scale. Results signify prevalence of child-to-mother violence in 50.9% [n = 1024] of the households surveyed. Key findings indicate 50.3% [n=521] of women were afraid in their family of origin, and 39.2% [n=521] of children had been witness to violence in the home previously. In addition, younger mothers experienced greater child-to-mother violence; as women’s level of education increased, their experience of child-to-mother violence decreased; single mothers experienced greater child-to-mother violence; and were more likely to live in households with access to casual employment or were unemployed. Perpetrators were predominantly sons, 58.7% [n = 521]. Half of the women who experienced child-to-mother violence spoke to someone; and experiences for women with a partner present in the home were divided between supportive and unsupportive behaviour from the partner. The most popular suggestions for support were affordable long-term counselling for youth and family, parent workshops, information and education, non-judgemental advocacy for mothers and their families, support groups for mothers, families and youth and peer mentorship programs. Women made salient their experiences related to child-to-mother violence which revealed the seriousness and complexity of this issue for women. As a result five key themes were developed: (1) Living in the red zone: The experience of child-to-mother violence, this theme referred to women’s sense of danger and difficulty in rasing an abusive child; (2) The damage is done: The breakdown of relationships, which described the breakdown and discord within relationships after experiencing child-to-mother violence; (3) Order out of chaos: Successful transition back into the family; identified the re-integration of relationships between the child/ren and mother; (4) Falling through the cracks: Barriers to service provision, drew attention to the difficulties women faced trying to access appropriate services; and, (5) Cry for help: Where to from here?, focused on suggestions by the mothers for support services. A workshop consultation with service providers revealed a number of broad recommendations: (1) Zero tolerance for violence, young people taking responsibility for violence; (2) Awareness of child-to-mother violence campaign; (3) Information and education packages; (4) Case management approach for families utilising services; (5) Co-operation between service providers; (6) 24 hour telephone service for advice; (7) Women centred support groups and group interventions; (8) Respite care; (9) Specialised counselling services; and (10) Mentoring programs. This study supported the view that power is a complex issue, particularly for women experiencing child-to-mother violence. Women developed feelings of ambiguity for their abusive child owing to resentment that built up for the child targeting them with abuse at the same time sympathising with the child for their particular circumstances. Providing support for women must be a priority. Key suggestions for support include: raising awareness through information and education packages, emergency phone support, building relationships, women centred support groups and peer mentoring. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/182469 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Edenborough, Michel A., University of Western Sydney, College of Health and Science, School of Nursing |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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