Re is a de Psicología Clínica con Niños y Adolescen es
Copy igh © 2018 RPCNA
www. e is apcna.com - ISSN 2340-8340
Re is a de Psicología Clínica con Niños y Adolescen es
Vol. 5. Nº. 3 - Sep iemb e 2018 - pp 16-22
doi: 10.21134/ pcna.2018.05.3.2
Child en exposed o in ima e pa ne iolence: impac assessmen and guidelines o in e en ion
Child en exposed o in ima e pa ne
iolence: impac assessmen and guidelines
o in e en ion
Sand a Ca acedo1, F ancisca Fa iña1, & Dolo es Seijo2
1Uni e si y o Vigo, Spain
2Uni e si y o San iago de Compos ela, Spain
Abs ac
In ecen yea s he e ha e been signi ican changes in he sys em o p o ec ion o child en and adolescen s in Spain. One o he mos impo an changes
ha has a ec ed in ima e pa ne iolence (IPV) is he ca ego y o ic ims, which includes child en who ha e been exposed o si ua ions o gende -based
iolence among hei pa en s. This s udy aims o analyze he impac ha exposu e o gende iolence can ha e in child en’s psychological de elopmen ,
speci ically in he emo ional and social a eas. We ec ui ed 132 child en whose mean age was 9.54 yea s (SD = 2.18), 47.7% we e gi ls. O his sample, 66
pa icipan s epo ed being exposed o si ua ions o gende iolence and he es had no been exposed. Psychological adjus men was assessed h ough
he sel - epo ed e sion o he Child and Adolescen Beha io Assessmen Sys em (BASC-S2). The esul s indica ed ha child en who ha e been exposed
o gende iolence ha e highe sco es on psychosocial diso de s compa ed o child en om non- iolen amilies. In global e ms, he esul s showed ha
child en exposed o iolence show g ea e adap i e and emo ional di icul ies. A e lec ion on he iden i ied needs and hei implica ions o e alua ion and
in e en ion is p esen ed.
Keywo ds: in ima e iolence pa ne , child en, exposu e, psycho-emo ional e ec s, in e en ion.
Resumen
Niños expues os a iolencia de géne o: impac o y o ien aciones pa a la in e ención. En España, en los úl imos años ha habido cambios signi ica i os en
el sis ema de p o ección a la in ancia y adolescencia. Uno de los cambios más impo an es que ha epe cu ido en el a amien o de la Violencia de Géne o
(VG) es la ca ego ía de íc imas, que engloba a los niños que en alguna medida hayan enido elación o hayan es ado expues os a si uaciones de iolencia
de géne o en e sus p ogeni o es. Es e es udio iene po obje o analiza el impac o que la exposición a iolencia de géne o puede causa en el desa ollo
psicológico in an il, conc e amen e en las á eas emocional y social. Se eclu a on 132 niños cuya media de edad ue 9.54 años (DT = 2.18), el 47.7%
e an chicas. De es a mues a, 66 pa icipan es in o ma on habe es ado expues os a si uaciones de iolencia de géne o y el es o no lo habían es ado. El
ajus e psicológico ue e aluado a a és de la e sión au o-in o mada del Sis ema de E aluación de Conduc as de Niños y Adolescen es (BASC-S2). Los
esul ados indica on que los niños que han es ado expues os a iolencia de géne o p esen an mayo es pun uaciones en al e aciones psicosociales en
compa ación con niños p o enien es de amilias sin iolencia. En é minos globales, los esul ados mos a on que los niños expues os a iolencia mani ies-
an mayo es di icul ades adap a i as y emocionales. Se e lexiona sob e las necesidades iden i icadas y sus implicaciones pa a la e aluación e in e ención.
Palab as cla e: iolencia de géne o, in ancia, exposición, e ec os psicoemocionales, in e ención.
Co espondence o:
Dolo es Seijo.
Facul y o Psychology. Uni e si y o San iago de Compos ela.
Campus Vida 15782 – San iago de Compos ela (A Co uña), Spain.
E.mail: ma iadolo[email p o ec ed]
Cu en s a is ics show ha domes ic iolence is mo e p e alen
in couples wi h child en unde hei ca e, being couple b eakup a
c i ical momen (A ce, Fa iña, & Seijo, 2005). The mos ecen Eu o-
pean su ey on iolence agains women epo ed ha in 73% o cases
women had amily esponsibili ies (Eu opean Union Agency o Fun-
damen al Righ s, 2014). A e iew o na ional s a is ics and p e alence
a es e eals simila ends. Fo example, acco ding o a Spanish Go -
e nmen su ey in ol ing 10,171 mo he s who had epo ed being
ic ims o IPV, an es ima ed 63.6 % o child en had been exposed o
iolence (Delegación del Gobie no de España pa a la Violencia de
Géne o, 2015). O he igu es ha a e o inc easing social conce n in
Spain e e o he numbe o women (n = 44) and child en mu de ed,
and he 26 child en o phaned due o IPV (Minis e io de Sanidad, Se -
icios Sociales e Igualdad, 2016). Owing o he g a i y o his phe-
nomenon, and in esponse o se e al Eu opean ini ia i es designed o
coun e ac IPV and o d aw public a en ion o he pligh o child en,
17 Sand a Ca acedo, F ancisca Fa iña, & Dolo es Seijo
he Spanish Go e nmen has in oduced majo e o ms in he child
p o ec ion sys em. Thus, child en om mo he s epo ing IPV a e
conside ed o be po en ially a isk, being assigned he legal s a us o
ic ims in o de o sa egua d hei wel a e and sa e y (Mo eno-To es,
2015). Mo eo e , child en om ic im mo he s a e in isk o de elop-
ing an indi ec psychological inju y (A ce, Fa iña, & Vila iño, 2015).
Resea ch in he ield o IPV has iden i ied a ious o ms o child
ic imiza ion in cases o IPV such as: 1) di ec child abuse, 2) exposu e
o IPV and, 3) he co-occu ence o child mal ea men and exposu e
o IPV (Bake & Cunningham, 2005). This s udy ocuses on child en’s
exposu e o IPV be ween pa en s o u he ou unde s anding o he
complexi ies and impac on he psychological unc ioning o child en.
Acco ding o G o es (1999), child en expe iencing IPV a e usually
awa e o he amily p oblems and iolence. This is ha dly su p is-
ing conside ing a leas 75% o iolen beha iou in he amily home
occu s in he p esence o child en and he odds a e mul iplied when
e e ing o physical assaul (Hol , Bucley, & Whelan, 2008). Howe e ,
child en´s exposu e o IPV is no con ined o passi ely wi nessing
iolen beha iou since hey a e incessan ly emb oiled in con lic ing
si ua ions (Holden, 2003; McDonald e al., 2015; Renne & Boel-
S ud , 2017).
Mos s udies ha e concluded ha ea ly exposu e o s ess ul si -
ua ions associa ed o IPV ha e a nega i e impac on he child’s men-
al heal h (Commi ee on Psychosocial Aspec s o Child and Family
Heal h Commi ee on Psychosocial Aspec s o Child and Family
Heal h, Commi ee on Ea ly Childhood, Adop ion, and Dependen
Ca e, and Sec ion on De elopmen al and Beha io al Pedia ics, 2012;
Shonko , Ga ne , and The Commi ee on Psychosocial Aspec s o
Child and Family Heal h, Commi ee on Ea ly Childhood, Adop ion,
and Dependen Ca e, and Sec ion on De elopmen al and Beha io al
Pedia ics, 2012). Fo example, a me a-analysis e iewing 118 s udies
ound ha child en´s exposu e o IPV p edic ed in e nalizing p ob-
lems and psychological clinical diso de s es ima ed o ange om
50 o 63% (Ki zmann, Gaylo d, Hol , & Kenny, 2003). Some clinical
diso de s iden i ied in child en li ing in iolen amilies a e auma,
dep ession, and anxie y symp oms ha ha e been linked o ch onic
diagnoses and heal h isk beha iou s (Howell, Ba nes, Mille , & G a-
ham-Be mann, 2016; Limiñana, Su iá, & Ma eo, 2017; Olaya, Ezpe-
le a, Osa, G ane o, & Doménech, 2010).
As o emo ional unc ioning, Howell and G aham-Be mann
(2011) ha e unde sco ed ha en i onmen al s esso s (e.g. am-
ily iolence) end o p o oke uncon olled emo ional esponses in
school child en. As a esul , child en in amilies exposed o IPV o en
epo mo e mood swings, eeling ea , despai , ange , us a ion,
shame, insecu i y, sel -blame and low sel -es eem as compa ed o
non-exposed child en (Haj-Yahia, 2001; Limiñana e al., 2017; Lundy
& G ossman, 2005; Peisch e al., 2016). F om a psychosocial de el-
opmen pe spec i e, child en exposed o IPV exhibi di icul ies in
managing social si ua ions due o social wi hd awal and a oidance
pa e ns (Limiñana e al., 2017). In addi ion, a longi udinal s udy
ound ha emo ional compe ence media ed he ela ion be ween
child en´s exposu e o IPV and nega i e pee in e ac ions (Kaz , Hes-
sle , & Annes , 2007). Recen esea ches ha e also shown ha pa ne
p oblems we e associa ed wi h pa en -child ela ionships, which in
u n we e pa ially associa ed o he child en’s ou comes in iend-
ships (Gallaghe , Hu h-Bocks, & Schmi , 2015) and child- o-pa en
iolence (Con e as & Cano, 2016).
Addi ionally, he impac o wi nessing IPV a ec s academic pe -
o mances, e.g., school child en exposed o IPV we e obse ed o ha e
lea ning p oblems in ma hs and language (Lundy & G ossman, 2005).
E idence o de ici s in execu i e unc ioning was ound in child en sub-
mi ed o IPV, wi h p oblems ela ed o planning, p io i izing, o gan-
izing, and ask comple ion ha we e di ec ly in ol ed in academic
pe o mance (DeP ince, Weinzie l, & Combs, 2009). Despi e ce ain
me hodological limi a ions and some disc epancies ac oss p e iously
desc ibed esea ch on di e en e ec s, mode a ing ac o s, and less
explo ed a eas, he exposu e o IPV du ing childhood is well-es ab-
lished as a o m o child mal ea men leading o subs an ial psycho-
logical ha dship (McTa ish, McG ego , Wa hen, & MacMillan, 2016).
Cu en s udy
This s udy aims o analyse he psychological impai men caused
in Spanish child en exposed o IPV. I was hypo hesized ha child en
who had been exposed o IPV would exhibi : 1) global psychologi-
cal maladjus men , 2) emo ional impa men , and 3) social p oblems
as compa ed o child en who ha e no been subjec ed o iolence in
hei amily.
Nume ous esea che s ha e ob ained hei samples om woman
shel e s o men al heal h se ices, whe e pa icipan s had expe ienced
pa icula ly se e e eme gency IPV si ua ions wi h a lack o suppo
and mani es clinical diso de s (Gil oy, McFa lane, Maddoux, & Sul-
li an, 2016). The p esen s udy con ibu es o he cu en li e a u e by
explo ing he e ec s o IPV exposu e on child en who do no mee
he p e iously desc ibed equi emen s. Thus, amilies we e ec ui ed
in collabo a ion wi h paedia icians, school counsello s and social
agen s. One p ima y equi emen was ha child en we e he main
in o man , gi en ha he assessmen o in e nalized symp oms is
conside ably mo e cons ained when applied only o mo he s, who
ind i di icul ace up o such a complex assessmen due o hei own
pe sonal ci cums ances (Howell, Mille , & G aham-Be mann, 2012).
Me hod
Pa icipan s
This s udy included 132 Spanish child en (53.3% males), aged
6 o 12-yea s, mean age 9.54 yea s (SD = 2.18). Six y-six child en
had expe ienced IPV wi hin he pas yea , and hei mo he s we e
al eady sepa a ed om he domes ic iolence pe pe a o s. Six y-six
child en me he c i e ia o he con ol g oup (i.e., no p io expe-
ience o IPV be ween pa en s who we e s ill li ing oge he a he
ime o he e alua ion). The gende iolence o ences we e asce -
ained h ough cou judgemen s.
Rega ding he educa ional s a us o child en, mos child en we e
a p ima y school (76.6 %), and he emainde in he ea ly s ages o
high school (23.4%). Female ic ims had been expe ienced physical
iolence (62.9%), psychological abuse (34.8%), sexual assaul (1.5%)
o all p e ious o ms (0.8%) by hei ex-pa ne . Mo he s o child en
exposed o IPV epo ed child en we e mos ly exposed o physical
and psychological abuse in 39.8% and 28.4% o cases, espec i ely. In
compa ison, he mo he s o child en in he con ol g oup epo ed
hei child en had ne e been a di ec wi ness o IPV (68.2%), o had
no known hese so o e en s (31.8%).
P ocedu e
This s udy examined links be ween IPV exposu e and psychologi-
cal impac in 132 child en ec ui ed om paedia icians, schools, and
domes ic iolence social agencies. The s udy was app o ed by he E h-
18 Impac o in ima e pa ne iolence on child en
ical Commi ee o Clinical Resea ch (CEIC) o Galicia, Spain. Da a
analysed in he cu en s udy we e collec ed as pa o a la ge s udy
in collabo a ion wi h he pedia icians and he Pedia ic Eme gency
Se ice o he Uni e si y Hospi al o San iago de Compos ela, school
counsello s, and social agen s specialized in domes ic iolence who
dis ibu ed he ec ui men o m and explained he esea ch objec-
i es o he amilies in ol ed. Those in e es ed in pa icipa ing we e
asked o con ac he esea che s o a ange an indi idual p e-in e -
iew wi h each mo he . Du ing he p e-in e iew s age, esea che s
sc eened: 1) amily si ua ion (p e ious IPV by ex-pa ne o no amily
his o y o IPV), and 2) ha child en we e no di ec ic ims o any
o m o abuse (physical, psychological o sexual). Addi ionally, he
mo he s p o ided socio-demog aphic da a and con ac de ails. All
mo he s we e explained he s udy objec i es and eely olun ee ed
o pa icipa e in he s udy. Signed in o med consen was ob ained
om all mo he s, and pa icipan s we e assu ed he da a collec ed
would emain anonymous and con iden ial unde he Spanish da a
p o ec ion law. Finally, each child was in e iewed indi idually o
he esea che o adminis e he su ey, which ook app oxima ely 50
minu es o comple e.
Measu emen ins umen s
Socio-demog aphic and amily in o ma ion
Mo he s esponded o an ad-hoc su ey con aining demog aphic
ques ions abou hemsel es (e.g. age, educa ion, p o ession), hei
amilia si ua ion (e.g. ma i al s a us, numbe o o sp ing), hei chil-
d en (age, gende , educa ional le el), and speci ic aspec s o iolence
agains he mo he and he child en’s exposu e o IPV.
Psychosocial adjus men
The Beha iou Assessmen Sys em o child en (BASC-S2; Reyn-
olds & Kamphaus, 1998), adap ed o he Spanish con ex by González-
Ma qués, Fe nández-Guinea, San ama ía, Pe eña and Pé ez-He nán-
dez (2004). This is a 146-i em sel - epo ques ionnai e designed o
child en aged 6 o 12-yea s. O e all, psychological and pe sonali y
aspec s a e alued, as well as he pe sonal pe cep ion o child en abou
hemsel es and in e pe sonal and amily ela ionships. The mul idi-
mensional measu e consis s o 12 subscales, wi h he Clinical scales
ga he ing da a on school maladjus men , a i ude o school, a ypical-
i y, locus o con ol, social s ess, dep ession, sense o inadequacy; and
he Adap a i e scales da a on in e pe sonal ela ions, ela ions wi h
pa en s, sel -es eem, and sel - eliance. Fu he mo e, his ins umen
epo s 4 global dimensions i.e., clinic maladjus men , school p ob-
lems, pe sonal adjus men , and emo ional symp oms Index (ISE). In
his sample, he BASC-S2 had accep able in e nal consis ency o α =
.70 o α = .80 ac oss subscales.
Da a analysis
The me hod o analysis used was he compa ison o medians
be ween wo g oups based on he exposu e o IPV by applying S u-
den ´s -Tes o independen samples. To imp o e he desc ip ion o
he sample h ough s anda dized medians, he e ec sizes we e cal-
cula ed using Cohen’s d (Cohen, 1988). Thus, he analysis ook in o
accoun d, wi h alues equal o o abo e .20 indica ing a small e ec
size, equal o o g ea e han .50 a medium e ec size, and .80 upwa ds
we e conside ed la ge e ec sizes (Cohen, 1988).
Resul s
Table 1 p esen s he esul s o he compa ison o a e ages
be ween g oups. Child en exposed o IPV showed s a is ically mean-
ing ul di e ences in he ollowing clinical scales: nega i e a i ude o
school (124) = 2.25, p < .05, d = .40, locus o con ol, (122) = 3.55, p
< .001, d = .62, social s ess, (121.6) = 3.18, p < .01, d = .56, dep es-
sion, (121.2) = 4.14, p < .001, d = .73, and sense o inadequacy (123)
= 3.32, p < .001, d = .58. Acco ding o hese esul s, child en who
had expe ienced IPV we e mo e dissa is ied wi h school, el unable
o manage hei pe sonal si ua ion o o keep i unde con ol, mani-
Table 1. Compa ison o IPV Exposu e s. no IPV Exposu e g oups on he BASC-S2.
Va iable IPV Exposed No IPV Exposu e d p d
MSD MSD
School maladjus men 116.22 24.95 110.80 31.57 1.07 124 .28 .19
A i ude o school 3.10 2.42 2.15 2.22 2.25 124 .02 .40
A i ude o eache s 2.14 2.17 1.54 2.16 1.54 124 .12 .27
Clinic maladjus men 152.93 49.65 146.52 26.74 0.89 101.7 .37 .16
Emo ional symp oms index 330.64 73.52 288.55 56.30 3.60 121.4 <.001 .63
Anxie y 7.97 4.06 6.70 4.38 1.67 123 .96 .30
A ypicali y 3.71 3.06 2.74 2.73 1.81 118 .07 .32
Locus o con ol 6.22 3.82 4.00 3.12 3.55 122 <. 001 .62
Social S ess 4.02 3.14 2.49 2.25 3.18 121.6 .002 .56
Dep ession 3.89 3.36 1.77 2.37 4.14 121.2 <. 001 .73
Sense o inadequacy 3.47 2.29 2.10 2.28 3.32 123 <. 001 .58
Pe sonal adjus men 177.92 41.55 205.57 25.97 -4.53 114.2 <. 001 .79
In e pe sonal ela ionships 6.95 2.41 8.51 1.46 -4.59 114.5 <. 001 .81
Rela ionships wi h pa en s 9.27 2.15 9.96 1.61 -2.03 121.6 .04 .35
Sel -es eem 4.98 1.62 5.89 .95 -3.90 113.1 <. 001 .68
Sel - eliance 8.79 2.10 12.26 16.76 -1.69 123 .09 .29
Validi y 0.27 0.53 0.05 0.22 3.11 94.6 .002 .55
F Index 1.56 1.90 0.77 1.42 2.59 124 .01 .45
Consis ency index 5.73 8.73 3.93 10.85 1.03 124 .30 .18
Pa e n esponse index 74.75 12.18 78.05 12.26 -1.50 123 .13 .26
= S uden ´s -Tes ; d = deg ees o eedom; d = Cohen’s e ec size.
19 Sand a Ca acedo, F ancisca Fa iña, & Dolo es Seijo
es ed dep essi e symp oms, had mo e s ess in social con ex s, and a
nega i e sel -pe cep ion ela ed o success. In con as , on he adap-
i e scales he child en in he con ol g oup wi h no exposu e o IPV
showed highe sco es in in e pe sonal ela ionships, (114.5) = - 4.59,
p < .001, d = .80, ela ionship wi h pa en s, (121.6)= -2.03, p < .05, d
= .35, and sel -es eem, (113.1) = -3.90, p < .001, d = .68. Thus, hese
child en we e mo e success ul in hei social ela ionships, and had
be e ela ionships wi h hei pa en s and g ea e sel -es eem.
The esul s in he global dimensions indica e ha child en
exposed o IPV showed poo e Pe sonal Adjus men , (114.2) = -4.53,
p < .001, d = .79, and a highe Emo ional Symp oms Index (ESI),
(121.4) = 3.60, p < .001, d = .63. In compa ison, child en no exposed
o IPV epo ed mo e coping skills and social/ amily suppo han
child en exposed o IPV. The opposi e occu ed in he assessmen o
he ESI, which agglu ina es he sco es ob ained in he clinical scales,
indica ing ha child en exposed o IPV mani es ed g ea e emo ional
dis ess. Wi h he excep ion o he Consis ency Index, (124) = 1.03,
p < .01, d = .18, he o he alidi y scales p ope ly o e come in bo h
g oups, indica ing child en exposed o IPV had g ea e di icul ies in
answe ing o simila i ems.
O he scales ha we e signi ican , a la ge e ec size was obse ed
in in e pe sonal ela ionships, wi h a close associa ion be ween child-
hood exposu e o IPV and di icul ies in managing and main ain-
ing social ela ionships. Mo eo e , a mode a e e ec size was ound
be ween exposu e o IPV and he p esence o an ex e nal locus o
con ol, s ess in social in e ac ions, dep ession, sense o inadequacy,
poo sel -es eem and pe sonal adjus men , and high ESI. Finally, he
e ec size was small in nega i e a i ude o school and ela ionship
wi h pa en s, which exhibi ed a less in ense in e ac ion. In ela ion o
he global s a e, he pa ame e s es ima ed show ha child en´s expo-
su e o IPV was associa ed o pe sonal maladjus men and emo ional
symp oms wi h a medium e ec size. O e all, hese esul s suppo
he ini ial hypo hesis ha child en exposed o IPV exhibi global psy-
chological maladjus men as well as emo ional and social impai men .
Discussion
The indings o his s udy e ealed ha child en exposed o IPV
epo ed lowe le els o success in hei in e pe sonal ela ionships as
compa ed o non-exposed pee s. Unlike some p e ious s udies (Chan
& Yeung, 2009), in e pe sonal ela ionships ou comes we e ound o
be mo e s ongly associa ed wi h exposu e o IPV han in e naliz-
ing p oblems. This may be due o sample cha ac e is ics. Thus, he
de eloping o in e nalizing p oblems equi es o a high cogni i e
compe ence (mode a o ) o in o m abou in e nalizing symp oms in
a clinical in e iew (Vila iño, A ce, & Fa iña, 2013). Resul s indica ed
ha child en who ha e been exposed o in e -pa en al iolence show
highe le els o dissa is ac ion wi h hei social in e ac ions, which
coincides wi h o he ecen s udies (Gallaghe e al., 2015; Ve íssimo,
San os, Fe nandes, Shin, & Vaughn, 2014). Resea che s wo ldwide
ha e associa ed he exposu e o child en o domes ic iolence wi h
di icul ies in being empa he ic, in e p e ing social communica ion
p ope ly, and in a icula ing eelings and expe iences (Gallaghe e
al., 2015; Howell & G aham-Be mann, 2011). Recen ly, se e al s ud-
ies ha e shown ha he quali y o a achmen p o ided by pa en s
g ea ly in luenced he de elopmen o social skills in child en (Pin o,
Ve issímo, & Vaughn, 2015; Ve íssimo e al., 2015) and he adul
a achmen (No o, He bón, & Amado, 2016). Consequen ly, child en
exposed o IPV exhibi ed g ea e di icul ies in main aining las ing
and heal hy iendships, which diminished he odds o ecei ing sup-
po ou side he home in compa ison o o he child en (Gallaghe e
al., 2015; Howell, Ca e , Mille -G a , & G aham-Be mann, 2015).
Mo eo e , e idence o ex e nal locus o con ol, social dis ess,
dep essi e symp oms, low sel -con idence and sel -es eem, nega i e
school pe cep ion, di icul pa en al ela ionships, pe sonal malad-
jus men (wi h endency o shyness), and se e e emo ional dis ess
has been epo ed in child en exposed o IPV (B own, Fi e, S one, &
Bo ola o, 2016; Ma eos-Pé ez, Cal e e, & Hankin, 2015; Seijo, Fa iña,
Co ás, No o, & A ce, 2016). As ega ds ex e nal locus o con ol and
sense o sel -e icacy, some au ho s ha e concluded ha child en
exposed o in e -pa en al con lic pe cei ed high le els o h ea and
coping ine icacy and we e a g ea e isk o in e nalizing diso de s
(Camisaca, Mi agoli, Blasio, & G ych, 2017). I has been sugges ed
ha he p esence o in e nalizing symp oms in child en exposed o
IPV could be explained in pa by he alexi hymia diso de , which is
ela ed o di icul ies in iden i ying, exp essing, egula ing emo ional
eac ions and a oidance esponses (B own e al., 2016). O he au ho s
ha e poin ed ou ha social dis ess does no jus ely on indi idual
a iables (e.g. nega i e sel -es eem, social sel -pe cep ion, and sense
o inadequacy), bu is also ela ed o amily a iables such as pa en ing
p ac ices (Gómez-O iz, Casa, & O ega-Ruiz, 2016). Recen s udies
conce ning he child-pa en ela ionship ha e asse ed ha child en
exposed o IPV a e also exposed o less pa en -child wa m h and
a ec ion, which may play a key ole in sho and long- e m psycho-
logical unc ioning and ela ional skills (Mille -G a , Ca e , Howell,
& G aham-Be mann, 2016). The e idence suppo s he iew ha
iolence does no jus ake place in he in ima e dyad bu also has
nega i e e ec s on ela ional pa e ns h oughou he en i e amily.
Beyond household impai men , lea ning di icul ies and nega i e aca-
demic ou comes may make school a new s ess ac o gene a ing pe -
sonal us a ion, ejec ion and dissa is ac ion in he child (Pe kins &
G aham-Be mann, 2012). Finally, he esul s o his s udy a e in line
wi h p e ious wo k unde sco ing ha child en´s exposu e o IPV is
a complex issue ha a ec s he child’s socio-emo ional de elopmen ,
and ha psychological maladjus men may e en ex end well in o
adul hood unless child en ecei e due suppo du ing he ea ly s ages
o childhood (Ca e , Mille , Howell, & G aham-Be mann, 2015).
Limi a ions
In his s udy he main limi a ion esea che s had o o e come was
in gaining access o child en mee ing he inclusion c i e ia. On he
o he hand, i is necessa y o ake in o accoun me hodological limi-
a ions o he measu emen ins umen s ha ha e been applied, ha
is, sel - epo measu e, as well as hose de i ed om he ype o sam-
pling and he size o he sample.Though he esul s o his s udy can-
no be ex apola ed o he gene al popula ion, hey do shed some ligh
as o he pe sonal, amily, and social needs o child en exposed o IPV.
Implica ions o in e en ion
The esul s o his s udy highligh ha in e en ions should be
ailo ed o he psychosocial needs o child en exposed o IPV, and
he pa amoun impo ance o p e iously de ec ing he isks and sa e y
o bo h he child and he abused ca egi e (MacMillan, Wa hen, &
Va coe, 2013; Rod íguez-Ca ballei a e al., 2015). Hence, he applica-
ion o s anda dized psychome ic es s alida ed in o he popula ions
may no achie e he desi ed ou comes gi en ha child en exposed o
IPV ha e speci ic needs and cha ac e is ics. Thus, he p ima y goal
o assessmen in hese cases should be o ob ain ele an in o ma ion
20 Impac o in ima e pa ne iolence on child en
o designing bespoke pe sonalized i ine a ies o each child, amily,
and communi y se ices. In Spain, he isk assessmen model o child
abuse has been adap ed o de ec si ua ions o IPV. This ool suppo s
social agen s in unde aking p elimina y needs analysis, pa icula ly
in high- isk si ua ions wi hou ac ually e alua ing he exis ing ha m
on child en (Obse a o io de la In ancia, 2014). The same p ocedu e
lea es ou o he p o essionals (such as paedia icians, eache s o
school counsello s) who a e in di ec con ac wi h amilies ha show
hese needs, and acili a e access o specialized ca e ea men .
Ini ial sc eening is hus an essen ial p e equisi e o de e mine he
ype o in e en ion ha is equi ed in each speci ic case. Though an
a ay o di e en in e en ion models a e a ailable; Howa h e al.
(2016) claims ha psychoeduca ional g oup-based in e en ions a -
ge ing he child a e mo e e ec i e o imp o ing men al heal h han
o he ypes o in e en ion. This ype o in e en ion has been applied
in Spain (e.g., he communi y-based p og am “Suppo o child en
who ha e li ed domes ic iolence”), which is o ganized in g oup ses-
sions and designed o p omo e he emo ional egula ion o child en
(Fa iña, A ce, & Seijo, 2009). Al e na i ely, inno a i e app oaches
ha e been applied o child en exposed o IPV o enhance hei esil-
ience, coping skills, child-pa en ela ionship, emo ional socializa ion,
and o as e he ac i e ole o child en in hei mo he ’s eco e y as
well as imp o ing sel -pe cei ed sa e y a e c ea ing a sa e y plan
(Callaghan, Alexande , & Fellin, 2016; Ka z, 2016; Hawe, Eisenbe g,
Kohlho , & Dudeney, 2017; Mille , 2014). I would be o in e es i
esea ch indings can be inco po a ed o imp o e in e en ions. Also,
equi ing he adminis a ion, con inui y should be gi en o in e en-
ions ha ha e esul s based on scien i ic e idence.
Con lic o in e es
The au ho s decla e ha he e is no con lic o in e es ega ding
he publica ion o his a icle.
Funding
This esea ch was suppo ed by Heal hy Ins i u e Ca los III o
Spanish Na ional Plan 2012 on he s a egical ac ion om heal h
(2012-PN208) (Re .PI12/00604).
Recei ed manusc ip : 24/04/2017
Accep ed: 01/10/2017
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