NoVA Research-Batterers as Fathers

As part of our commitment to ending violence and abuse, the Non-Violence Alliance is committed to research that will advance the field of batterer intervention. Working independently and with research partners like Dr. Emily Rothman, Matrix Public Health Consultants, and EncompassGroup, we are currently involved in research on batterers as fathers, improvements in the child protection, effectiveness of batterer intervention programs in correctional settings, and program outcomes and screening for batterers in medical settings.

• A National Study Of Batterers’ Perceptions Of Their Children’s Exposure to the Violence and Abuse
• Cognitive Assessment of Abusive Fathers
• Abstract for "Batterers's Perception of the Effect of Their Intimate Partner Violence on Children: Biological and Social Fathers Compared"

Cognitive Assessment of Abusive Fathers

Children have been shown to be a significant reason batterers change their behavior (Donovan & Paterson, 1999) yet very little has been done to study how batterers view their children and the children of their partners. Greater knowledge about batterers’ perceptions of their children and related domains may help shape more effective interventions, accountability strategies and programs for men who batterer.

Using a newly created instrument called the Cognitive Assessment of Abusive Fathers (or CAAF), this study will report on a national sample of men involved in batterer intervention and treatment programs. This study builds upon the results of an earlier Connecticut study using CAAF and the literature on the effects of domestic violence on children, parenting alliance theory, and father involvement. The study will gather and analyze data on the following key domains of batterers’ perceptions: (a) the extent of their children’s exposure to their violence and abuse, (b) the actual impact their behavior has on their children, (c) concerns for short and long term effects of their abuse on their children, (d) the relative concern for various effects their violence might have on their children, (e) help seeking actions they might take if they thought their children were being effected, and (f) how they perceive their partner and themselves as parents.

The study attempts to capture the perceptions of batterers as it relates to the broadest group of children they might effect: their children and the children of their partner. The study will examine correlations between perceptions and demographic variables such as referral source, age, race, income, and educational level. Based on participant self-reports the research will also correlate perceptions with levels of violence and verbal abuse, and violence during pregnancy. The physical and emotional risks that batterers represent to children are well documented (Gleason, 1995; Graham-Bermann & Brescoll, 2000; Huth-Bocks, Levendosky & Semel, 2001; McDonald, Jouriles, Norwood, Ware & Ezell, 2000; Periodic Survey, 2002).

Batterers harm their children by exposing them to their violence toward their partner or ex-partner, direct child abuse and neglect, using them as weapons to hurt others, and undermining the parenting of the adult victim. Abuse and violence that impact family planning decisions and pregnancy can also be included in our understanding of the risks batterers’ present to children (Campbell, Woods, Chouaf & Parker, 2000). A batterer’s behavior always strains and frequently ruptures the parenting alliance that is important for the positive development of children. In his self-centered approach to his needs and the needs of others, a batterer frequently abdicates his responsibilities as a father to pursue his own interests above the short and long term interests of his children.

Understanding how batterers’ perceive their children’s exposure to their abuse can improve existing interventions and create new avenues for preventing abuse. If we can learn about how being a batterer effects a man’s image of himself as a father we may be able to offer better guidance to child protection workers, juvenile court judges and others attempting to engage batterers in intervention programs. If we know which effects of abuse most upset batterers we can help batterer treatment program staff target their counseling and education efforts. The same type of information may also be of use to medical, mental health and substance abuse professionals attempting to work with batterers and their families. Public health prevention campaigns might be built around data that indicates batterers are worried that their children are going to grow to be victims and perpetrators.

Because of nature of the study sample, this research also may point out the strengths and deficiencies of existing batterer intervention programs. Traditional batterer intervention programs vary in their approach to children. Few systematically address issues related to batterers as fathers (Peled, 2000). Although cross sectional in design, this study may still give us some insight into how batterer intervention programs change client’s perceptions of themselves, their children and their partner. For instance, data from the Connecticut sample indicates that men who are farther along in treatment are more sensitive to the impact their violence has on their children than men in earlier stages (Mandel, 2002).

Learning more about batterers as fathers may produce benefits for battered women and their children. Often, battered women and their abusers share a child or children. In many cases, it is not safe for the batterer to have any contact with the adult and child victims. But in other cases, for a myriad of reasons, a battered woman may want a batterer to be in contact with his children if it can occur safely. In most jurisdictions, a father who has abused his partner will be allowed some contact with his child or children (Sheeran & Hampton, 1999). A greater understanding of batterers’ perceptions of their children may be useful in developing interventions to improve the parenting of a batterer and healing the damage his abuse has done to his children.

From the children’s point of view a batterer, despite his violence and abuse, may be a very important and instrumental person in their lives (Peled, 2000;Sullivan, Juras, Bybee, Nguyen &Allen, 2000). Slade (2000), writing about supervised visitation between batterers and their children, raises a number of issues related to the importance of batterers to their children.

“What if a violent father has managed, none the less, to forge a bond and attachment with his child that is meaningful and significant to the child? What if the child idealizes and identifies with the missing father? If such a child then maintains the ‘link’ with the missing parent by enacting aspects of the father’s behaviour, aggression and impulsiveness for instance, in his or her own relationship with the mother, then has aggression as a method of dealing with problems crossed generations? Is it possible that some male perpetrators of violence might yet play a positive part in their children’s development if guided to correct damaging lessons of the past? Contact with missing parents fulfils a number of important functions for children: maintaining significant emotional and psychological links; testing the reality as against the fantasy of an idealized missing parent; and maintaining links to extended family and perhaps a second culture or race.”

The vast majority of batterer intervention programs are accessed through the criminal justice system. In many cases this means that men of color and poor men are disproportionately represented in these programs. Researching batterers as fathers may create the data needed to design and implement prevention based models that utilize multiple screening and intervention points with men that do not necessitate their involvement in punitive systems. If batterers can be motivated to voluntarily seek treatment for their abuse because they have been convinced their violence harms their children, we increase fairness and share the weight of responding to this issue beyond the already overburdened courts and child protection agencies.

By exploring research that might help batterers as fathers maintain safe contact with their children, we are addressing the issues of family and family integrity that are so important in many communities of color. Quoted in “Assembling the Pieces: An African American Perspective on Community and Family Violence (2002),” Dr. Esther Jenkins says “Black women don’t want men removed from their families. They want their relationships fixed.” While this statement is true for women of many different cultural groups, it may have special meaning for communities that struggle under the forces of economic and social oppression that damage families and intimate relationships.

It is the author’s hope that this exploratory research study will make a useful contribution to the current dialogues about batterers as fathers, victim safety and how best to address the long term relationship many batterers have with their children or the children of their partners.