PROGRAMS
Shelter-based Group Intervention with Parents and Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
Overview
Delivery Approach:
- Group
Delivery Format:
- In-person
Provider Requirements:
- No Provider Requirements
Type of Experience Addressed:
- Domestic Violence
Engagement Methods:
- Talk-based
- Experiential
Level of Intervention:
- Intervention
Length:
- Less than 12 weeks
Setting:
- Domestic Violence Shelter
- Homeless Shelter
- Family Service Agencies
- Community-based Agencies
- Other Settings
Program Details:
Type of services:
Group treatment intervention for children exposed to domestic violence and parenting group
Type of provider:
Male and female group facilitators; the type of service provider was specified in the evaluation study publication which is the basis of this program profile.
Program setting:
Community-based
Length of program/number sessions:
10 weeks; sessions were 90 minutes in length.
Type(s) of trauma addressed:
Exposure to domestic violence
Additional Information:
The group programs were developed by staff at the YWCA Family Violence Prevention Center and the Sherriff King Home in Calgary.
The children’s program included the following components:
- A focus on addressing posttraumatic stress issues by creating a safe, therapeutic environment where children can express their thoughts, feelings and experiences
- Psychoeducation on identification and expression of feelings, safety planning, problem solving, understanding emotional, sexual and physical abuse
- Relaxation exercises
The parenting program had two main goals:
- Relationship building between parent and child
- Promote positive discipline practices
Date Added/Updated:
9/10/2017
Population Served
Age:
- 6-12 (Childhood)
Population Language:
- English
Ethnic Racial Group:
- White
- Unspecified Ethnic Racial Group
Client/Audience:
- Child
- Child and Non-abusive Parent/Caregiver
- Survivor parent
Population Adaptations:
Age range of children:
6 to 12 years old; groups were organized by age with 6-8 children in each group
Parent/adult caregiver included in intervention:
At least one parent of each child in the group intervention is required to attend a corresponding parenting group.
Ethnic/racial and other groups served:
Not reported in the study
Specific cultural adaptations:
None indicated in study
Languages available:
English
Evaluation
Foundation:
Evaluation Studies:
A pre- and post- intervention comparison study (no control group) was conducted with a small sample (47 children in the study sample and 18 children in the final analyses). Fifteen percent of the children were mandated referrals from Child and Family Services. The remainder of children were self-referred and heard about the program through community advertising.
- At the end of the intervention, MacMillan (2003) reported the following findings:
- Children had significantly fewer behavior problems (externalizing, internalizing, and total score) reported by their parents, however there was a lack of correspondence between parents’ ratings of their children’s internalizing behaviors and children’s ratings of their own internalizing symptoms
- Children’s knowledge was significantly increased
- Scores in the clinical range dropped for some measures, particularly for externalizing behavior problems
- Parents’ ratings of their own stress in the child domain was significantly lower
MacMillan KM, Harpur LL. An examination of children exposed to marital violence accessing a treatment intervention. Journal of Emotional Abuse. 2003;3(3/4): 227-252.
Rated/Reviewed by Evidence Based Registries:
This intervention was not rated by the registries/databases we reviewed.
Training & Resources
Training Language:
Training Available:
Training Details:
Training & Resources
No information is provided in the publication about training or training resources.
Training Contact:
Program Contact
Karen MacMillan, PhD
Mount Royal College, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
403 440-7706
kmacmillan@mtroyal.ca