Archives
A child-centered approach to high-conflict and domestic-violence families: Differential assessment and interventions
Janet R Johnston
Professor, Justice Studies Department, San Jose State University, California, United States of America
Abstract
This paper discusses the extent of violence in high-conflict litigating families, differentiating between abusive relationships and high-conflict divorce, and describing the numerous ways that parenting is deficient and compromised.
Guidelines for making access plans that minimise adverse effects on children, restrains further abuse, and protects parents who have been victimised is followed by a discussion of the specialised services needed, and the challenges in coordinating the efforts of family court and community agencies on behalf of these families.
Keywords
domestic violence, high-conflict divorce, parent-child access
References
Austin WG (2000) Assessing the credibility in allegations of marital violence in the high conflict child custody case, Family and Conciliation Courts Review 38: 186-201.
Appel AE and Holden GW (1998) The co-occurrence of spouse and physical child abuse: A review and appraisal. Journal of Family Psychology 12: 578-599.
Bala N and Schuman J (1999) Allegations of sexual abuse when parents have separated. Canadian Family Law Quarterly 17: 191-243.
Bancroft L and Silverman JG (2002) The batterer as parent: Addressing the impact of domestic violence on family dynamics. Newbury Park CA: Sage.
Brown T (2003) Fathers and child abuse allegations in the context of parental separation and divorce. Family Court Review 41: 367-380.
Bornstein MH (ed) (2002) Handbook of parenting 4, Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Boyan SM and Termini AM (2005) The psychotherapist as parent coordinator in high-conflict divorce: Strategies and techniques. New York: Haworth Clinical Press.
Dalton C (1999) When paradigms collide: Protecting battered parents and their children in the family court system. Family & Conciliation Courts Review 37: 273-96.
Dalton C, Carbon S and Olesen N (2003) High conflict divorce, violence, and abuse: Implications for custody and visitation decisions. Juvenile & Family Court Journal 54: 11-34.
Depner CE, Cannata KV and Simon MB (1992) Building a uniform statistical reporting system: A snapshot of California family court services. Family and Conciliation Courts Review 30: 185-206.
Edleson JL (1999) The overlap between child maltreatment and woman battering. Violence Against Women 5: 134-154.
Ellis D, Stuckless N and Wight L (in press) Separation, domestic violence and divorce mediation. Conflict Resolution Quarterly Winter.
Greif GL and Hegar RL (1993) When parents kidnap: The families behind the headlines. New York: Free Press.
Herman, J (1997) Trauma and recovery. New York: Basic Books.
Jaffe PG, Lemon NKD and Poisson SE (2003) Child custody and domestic violence: A call for safety and accountability. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage.
Jaffe PG, Crooks CV and Bala N (2005) Making appropriate parenting arrangements in family violence cases: Applying the literature to promising practices. Final Report to the Department of Justice, Canada.
Johnston JR (1999) Response to Clare Dalton: When paradigms collide: Protecting battered parents and their children in the family court system. Family & Conciliation Courts Review 37: 422-428.
Johnston JR and Campbell LEG (1993) Parent-child relationships in domestic violence families disputing custody. Family and Conciliation Courts Review 31: 282-298.
Johnston JR and Girdner L (2001 January) Family abductors: Descriptive profiles and preventive interventions. Bulletin, Washington DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Johnston JR, Girdner LK and Sagatun-Edwards I (1999) Developing profiles of risk for parental abduction of children from a comparison of families victimised by abduction with families litigating custody. Behavioral Sciences and the Law 17: 305-322.
Johnston JR, Lee S, Olesen NW and Walters MG (2005) Allegations and substantiations of abuse in custody disputing families. Family Court Review 43: 283-294.
Johnston JR and Roseby V (1997) In the name of the child: A developmental approach to understanding and helping children of high-conflict and violent families. NY Free Press.
Johnson MP (1995) Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: Two forms of violence against women. Journal of Marriage & Family 57: 283-294.
Johnson MP and Ferraro KJ (2000) Research on domestic violence in the 1990s: Making distinctions. Journal of Marriage & Family 62(Nov): 948-963.
Lieberman AF and Van Horn P (1998) Attachment, trauma, and domestic violence: Implications for child custody. In Pruett K and Kline-Pruett M (eds) Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America (Special Issue on Child Custody) 7: 423-444.
McGill JC, Deutsch RM and Zibbell RA (1999) Visitation and domestic violence: A clinical model of family assessment and access planning. Family & Conciliation Courts Review 37: 315-334.
Neilson LC (2004) Assessing mutual partner-abuse claims in child custody and access cases. Family Court Review 42: 411-438.
Roseby V, Johnston J, Gentner B and Moore E (2005) A safe place to grow: A group treatment manual for children in conflicted, violent and separating homes. New York: Haworth Maltreatment & Trauma Press.
Shaffer M and Bala N (2003) Wife abuse, child custody and access in Canada. In Geffner R, Ingelman RS and Zellner J (eds) The effects of intimate partner violence on children, pp.253-276. New York: Haworth Maltreatment & Trauma Press.
Sturge C and Glaser D (2000) Contact and domestic violence - the experts' court report. Family Law September: 615-629.
Ver Steegh N (2005) Differentiating types of domestic violence: Implications for child custody. Louisiana Law Review 65: 1379-1431.
Thoennes N and Tjaden P (1990) The extent, nature, and validity of sexual abuse allegations in custody/visitation disputes. Child Abuse and Neglect 14: 151-163.
Wiehe VR (1997) Sibling abuse: Hidden physical, emotional, and sexual trauma 2nd edn, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage.
eContent Home