Family Law News

The Effects Of Domestic Violence On Children's Development And Family Functioning

The $2.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health was awarded recently to principal investigator Patrick Davies of the Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology and co-principal investigator Dante Cicchetti, director of the Mt. Hope Family Center and Shirley Cox Kearns Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester. Called Project Future ( Families Understanding Toddlers'Unique Relationship Experiences ), the investigators and a staff of research assistants will follow 250 two-year-olds and their mothers over a two-year period. Because of the devastating effects of domestic violence on children, families, and society, researchers need to gather more information about how and why children exposed to domestic violence are at an increased risk for experiencing mental illness.

The researchers will specifically examine children's development within the framework of emotional security theory. The main assumption of the theory is that domestic violence and accompanying functioning of the family increase child vulnerability to mental illness by undermining the child's sense of security and safety in the family. Parenting abilities, interpersonal relationships, and family characteristics also will be studied to determine the impact they may have on a child's mental health and general functioning when a child is exposed to domestic violence. Both psychological and biological ( neuroendocrine ) functioning of the children will be examined. The results will be used to inform social policy and prevention initiatives for young children and families.

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	Did You Know?
	Child custody is an important family issue. Child custody is a term that refers to the bundle of rights and responsibilities that a parent carries with respect to his/her child. Child custody includes numerous concepts, some of which overlap and some that are distinct. Your family lawyer in your state can help you make these distinctions.