Domestic violence in families in the Netherlands during the coronavirus crisis: A mixed method study.

BACKGROUND: The consequences of the coronavirus crisis are considerable for everyone in the Netherlands. Although there were concerns about the many vulnerable families who were forced to stay at home because of the measures taken by the government to contain the coronavirus in the Netherlands, there has been no increase in the number of reports of domestic violence or child abuse. OBJECTIVE: To gain insight by a mixed method study on what has happened during the lockdown within families who were already known to social services. METHODS: A quantitative study was performed among 159 families recruited before the coronavirus crisis, and 87 families recruited during the lockdown in the Netherlands through child protection services. Family members (parents, children) completed questionnaires about interparental violence, (historical) child abuse and neglect, and emotional security. In a qualitative study 39 of these respondents and 13 professionals were interviewed. RESULTS: No difference was found in violence between families who participated before and after the lockdown. The level of violence is still high in most families. The absence of assistance promoted the self-reliance of children and parents to deal with this difficult period. Professionals found new ways of connecting to families at risk. Every form of support is important to these families because it made children feel seen and heard. Isolation of families where domestic violence and child abuse occurred, remains a risk factor, even outside the coronavirus crisis.

Trajectories of traumatic stress reactions in children exposed to intimate partner violence.

BACKGROUND: Understanding different longitudinal patterns of traumatic stress reactions in children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) can promote early identification of at-risk children. OBJECTIVE: Our study aims to explore trajectories of traumatic stress reactions following childhood IPV exposure, and their relation with parental traumatic stress and child emotional security in the interparental subsystem. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The sample comprised 303 children (age 3-10, M = 6.20) from families referred to institutions for IPV. Data were collected at home. METHODS: Three waves of parent-reported questionnaire data were analyzed using latent class growth analysis and linear regression. RESULTS: Five trajectories were identified: 'resilient', 'moderate stable', 'struggling', 'improving', and 'elevated adjusting'. Only the 'struggling' trajectory had dysfunctional symptom levels at the final wave. Higher parental traumatic stress predicted 'improving' trajectory membership (ß = 0.17, p = .033), whereas lower parental traumatic stress (ß = -0.20, p = .003) and child emotional insecurity (ß = -0.45, p = < .001) predicted 'resilient' trajectory membership. Higher child emotional insecurity predicted membership in trajectories with higher initial traumatic stress (improving: ß = 0.26, p < .001; struggling: ß = 0.31, p < .001; elevated adjusting: ß = 0.27, p < .001). Child emotional security did not buffer the effect of parental traumatic stress on likelihood of dysfunctional trajectory membership (ß = 0.04, p =.380). CONCLUSIONS: Children exposed to IPV show different trajectories of traumatic stress reactions, partly corresponding to trajectories identified in other populations. Child emotional security and parental traumatic stress predict trajectory membership.