The Batterer as Parent

Moving beyond the narrow clinical perspective sometimes applied to viewing the emotional and developmental risks to battered children, The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics, Second Edition

ForewordPreface1. The Battering Problem Defining Batterers Characteristics of Batterers Misconceptions About Batterers Summary2. Power Parenting: The Batterer¿s Style With Children Typical Characteristics of Batterers as Parents Effects on Children of Exposure to Domestic Violence Child Abuse The Batterer as Role Model Children¿s Outlook on the Batterer Summary3. Shock Waves: The Batterer¿s Impact on the Home Undermining of the Mother¿s Authority Effects on Mother-Child Relationships Use of Children as Weapons Against the Mother The Batterer¿s Impact on Other Aspects of Family Functioning Resilience in Mother-Child and in Sibling Relationships Summary4. The Batterer as Incest Perpetrator Review of Studies The Predatory Child Molester Versus the Incest Perpetrator Shared Tactics of Batterers and Incest Perpetrators Shared Attitudes of Batterers and Incest Perpetrators Implications of the Overlap for Professional Response Sexual Abuse Allegations in Custody and Visitation Disputes Summary5. Impeding Recovery: The Batterer as Parent Postseparation Creating a Context for Children¿s Healing Batterers¿ Postseparation Conduct With Children Batterers¿ Motivations for Seeking Custody or Increased Visitation Batterers¿ Advantages in Custody Disputes Batterers¿ Tactics in Custody and Visitation Disputes Effects on Children of Custody Litigation Summary6. The Mismeasure of Batterers as Parents: A Critique of Prevailing Theories and Assessment Influential Theories of Divorce The Use of a Domestic Violence Typology to Assess Risk to Children Risk to Children: The Overlooked Implications of Johnston, Campbell, and Roseby¿s Own Observations Summary7. Supporting Recovery: Assessing Risk to Children From Batterers and Structuring Visitation Sources of Risk to Children From Unsupervised Contact With Batterers A Guide to Assessing Risk to Children From Batterers Structuring Custody and Visitation Summary8. Is It Real? Assessing and Fostering Change in Batterers as Parents Steps to Change in Batterers Misconceptions Regarding Change in Batterers Evaluating Change in Batterers as Parents Creating a Context for Change Summary9. Improving Community Responses to the Parenting of Batterers Children¿s Advocates, Child and Family Therapists, and Programs for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Custody Evaluators Family Courts Child Protection Systems and Courts With Protective Jurisdiction Parent Trainers Psychological Evaluators Batterer Programs and Fatherhood Programs Battered Women¿s Programs Supervised Visitation Centers Family Lawyers and Bar Associations Police Departments Researchers SummaryReferencesIndexAbout the Authors