The National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families published this 2016 research brief to familiarize people with the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and how the abuse affects exposed children across the country. The brief addresses the dynamics of perpetuated IPV and the impacts on children in a physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and behavioral sense. This brief is meant to serve as a resource in preventative and aftercare methods, including information on “red flags” and post-abuse therapists and hotlines.

This 20-minute podcast mediated by National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families Project Director Robyn Cenizal and former Colorado Human Services Provider Mary Roberto discusses Ms. Roberto’s previous role and experience, family violence options, and the importance of outreach for survivors and the community. The podcast serves as a proactive resource for programs when expanding their outreach and building educational resources for the community on family violence.

This journal article presents findings from a longitudinal study which examined the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV), five mental disorders (depression, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, panic attack, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]), alcohol abuse/dependence, drug abuse/dependence, treatment seeking (from physician, counselor, and self-help group), employment, child support, and welfare participation. Drawn from records extracted from the study "Violence Against Women and the Role of Welfare Reform" (VAWRWR), a key finding was that experiencing controlling behaviors reduced likelihood of welfare participation, while experiencing physical abuse increased it. Panic attack, drug abuse/dependence, and employment wielded significant impact on welfare participation rates; treatment seeking and child support made no significant impact on welfare rates.

This article features a nationally representative study of safe, stable, nurturing relationships among children and youth in the United States ages 1 month to 17 years. Researchers discovered that almost 1 in 4 children and adolescents resided in family environments with just modest levels of safety, stability, and nurturance, while approximately 1 in 15 experienced consistently low levels of these factors. Lack of safe, stable, nurturing relationships seems to most strongly affect older adolescents and children in nontraditional family structures and appear to have critical implications for future functioning of these youth. The article includes a discussion of the associations among the indicators of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and their implications for policy and practice.

Up to 74% of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants report recent experiences of domestic violence, compared to 30% of the general population, according to 2013 data. Survivors are often isolated from family, friends, and financial resources as a result of a perpetrator’s tactics to maximize the survivor’s level of dependency on them and decrease the likelihood that the survivor can gain self-sufficiency. TANF and other public assistance programs have a unique opportunity to provide necessary financial assistance and access to critical resources that can help survivors and their children move toward greater independence and self-sufficiency. In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, this facilitated webinar shared key findings about the economic toll intimate partner violence takes on survivors, and strategies for best supporting survivors who are accessing public assistance programs. This webinar took place on October 31 between 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. EDT.

This issue brief explores what is currently known about intergenerational patterns of child maltreatment and implications for further research. The brief notes that there is limited research on intergenerational child maltreatment, but existing studies reveal that patterns of abuse and neglect are complex and nuanced. Findings suggest that most parents who experienced maltreatment will not abuse or neglect their own children; however, findings vary depending on how the study was constructed or the types of maltreatment reviewed. When intergenerational patterns are found, the adults who experienced maltreatment are not necessarily the perpetrators in the next generation.

This paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research examines the effect of labor market conditions — such as unemployment, mass layoffs and predicted employment — on child abuse and neglect. According to a large body of research, poverty and parental unemployment are key predictors of child maltreatment, but state- and county-level studies assessing the link between economic conditions and child maltreatment have had mixed and contradictory results. In this study, the authors analyzed county-level data in California to assess the effect of gender-specific labor market shocks on child maltreatment rates. They found that overall economic conditions are only modestly linked to child maltreatment rates. However, economic downturns that disproportionately affect men increase maltreatment, whereas downturns that disproportionately affect women reduce maltreatment. The authors suggest that child maltreatment may be reduced by targeting employment search assistance, child care subsidies, and mental health services.

This guide is a product of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, and the FRIENDS (Family Resource Information, Education, and Network Development Service) National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention. It provides information, strategies, and resources to help communities support and strengthen families and ensure the well-being of children. The guide offers support to service providers who work with parents, caregivers, and children to prevent child maltreatment. It shares strategies on building protective factors within families and for children through service delivery and community partnerships. Protective factors discussed range from knowledge of child development to building social capital and parental resilience.

This article, which appeared in the Journal of Urban Health, takes data from the Building Wealth and Health Network Randomized Controlled Trial Pilot and examines the relationship between employment resilience and exposure to violence and depression for TANF families. The associations were found to be mixed, and implications for working with TANF families are given.