Project Support | Plataforma de Evidencias

This is a program to monitor female victims of domestic violence and their children, with the intervention taking place after they leave the shelter for female victims of violence. The service is provided by a therapist and students trained in the subject, through weekly meetings in the family’s home.
It includes two components:
1) Help is offered to the women to obtain physical resources and social support with the goal of becoming self-sufficient, as well as training in decision-making and problem-solving; and
2) Training in communication skills and ways to promote a positive relationship with the child.

Impact evaluations

An impact assessment showed that the program contributed to a reduction in children’s behavioral problems and an increase in their perception of happiness. There was a decrease in aggressive parenting strategies on the part of the mothers, but there was no statistically significant effect on children’s internalizing behaviors, mothers’ return to abusive partners, or recurrence of physical violence by an intimate partner [1].
The study was carried out using a Randomized Clinical Trial involving 36 families who were assessed over 16 months after leaving the shelter for battered women [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] McDonald, R., Jouriles, E. N. y Skopp, N. A. (2006). Reducing conduct problems among children brought to women's shelters: Intervention effects 24 months following termination of services. Journal of Family Psychology: JFP: Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 20(1), 127–136. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.20.1.127

Information source

Crime Solutions