Understanding What Children Say

Children's experiences of domestic violence, parental substance misuse and parental health problems

Sarah Gorin

• Publisher: National Children's Bureau
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781907969614
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Children's Studies in Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

We have a limited understanding of children's experiences of domestic violence, parental substance misuse and parental health problems. The complex dynamics that can surround families dealing with these issues may make it difficult for parents and professionals to understand how children feel. As a result, children's needs are often overlooked and they do not receive the support they need.

This book draws on a literature review and explores what children say about living in families where there is domestic violence, parental substance misuse or parental health problems. It examines research undertaken in the UK to provide us with a better understanding of the range of children's experience. It describes the key themes in children's experiences, how children feel about the difficulties they experience at home, what their coping strategies are and the support they would like to receive.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Understanding children’s experiences
• 3. Understanding children’s feelings
• 4. Understanding children’s coping strategies
• 5. Understanding children’s support needs
• 6. Conclusions and implications
• Appendix 1: Search strategy
• Appendix 2: Limitations of the research
• Appendix 3: Completed studies that include children’s perspectives and adults’ retrospective accounts
• Appendix 4: Ongoing studies that include children’s perspectives and adults’ retrospective accounts
• References