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Degree of exposure to domestic violence, psychopathology, and functional impairment in children and adolescents
- Authors:
- FERNÀNDEZ Eduard Bayarri, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(6), April 2011, pp.1215-1231.
- Publisher:
- Sage
There is a general consensus that childhood exposure to domestic violence is a risk factor for psychopathology, but there are discrepancies in the literature about whether this risk increases as the exposure increases. The aim of this work was to examine the relationship between different types of exposure to domestic violence and child psychopathology and functional impairment. A total of 144 Spanish children aged from 4 to 17 years whose mothers had attended a gender violence centre in Barcelona were evaluated using a diagnostic interview and other instruments of psychopathology and functional impairment. The participants were classified into 3 groups according to the degree of exposure to domestic violence: 72 were classified as a witness; 52 as involved; and 20 as a victim. According to mothers’ self-reports and mother-child combined information, domestic violence equally affects psychopathology and functional impairment regardless of the degree of the exposure. Children’s self-reports showed a linear trend to present greater psychopathology as a victim than as a witness. The differential effect of exposure to domestic violence measured in this study depended on the informant, underlining the importance of obtaining information directly from children exposed to domestic violence.