Maternal–Child Co-occupation Within a Domestic Violence Shelter

PURPOSE: Labeled as a public health problem, domestic violence has long-term health consequences for women and their children. There is considerable literature supporting the fact that children living in a domestic violence environment are at risk for a wide variety of problems (Chemtob & Carlson, 2004; Lapierre, 2010; Levendosky, Huth-Bocks, Shapiro, & Semel, 2003; Sturge-Apple, Davies, Cicchetti, & Manning, 2011). Mothers have a direct influence on their child’s development from the time the child is an infant and continuing throughout the developing years (Sturge-Apple et al., 2011). The maternal–child attachment is believed to influence all subsequent relationships across the life span (Levendosky et al., 2003). For mothers residing in a domestic violence shelter, the environment can limit their ability to create nurturing experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore maternal–child co-occupational experiences within the confines of a domestic violence shelter. Additionally, this study explored how trauma related to witnessing domestic violence affected the young children’s development.

DESIGN: A phenomenological qualitative design was used to explore the maternal–child co-occupational experiences of mothers and children who were survivors of domestic violence. This design was used sequentially as the qualitative piece influenced the development and implementation of a 6-wk co-occupation and parenting program for mothers residing at the shelter.

METHOD: The study sample included 15 female survivors of domestic violence who resided in a domestic violence shelter who were mothers of a child age 0–5 yr or who were pregnant. Participants were recruited using purposeful sampling. All participants were recruited from a single domestic violence shelter where the investigator provided recruitment opportunity to the mothers via a verbal recruitment script given at an occupational therapy program session. Participants were then scheduled to privately meet and to review and give their informed consent.

A semistructured interview with 19 potential questions was developed based on the literature and shelter observations. Data included transcriptions gained from verbatim audio-recorded interviews, field notes, and observations. Data were analyzed using a phenomenological qualitative method allowing the researchers to understand the experiences of the mothers and young children living in the shelter. Transcriptions were coded individually and then together to develop a codebook. Codes were then grouped into categories. Concept mapping was used to help further organize the data into meaningful categories. The researchers analyzed the concept maps separately and then together to develop themes to reflect the mothers’ perspectives.

RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the five mothers describing the maternal–child co-occupational experiences within the confines of a domestic violence shelter: (1) a difficult step, (2) I think they will be fine, and (3) maternal–child co-occupation. Internal qualities of the mothers appeared to be the primary barrier to achieving quality time for maternal–child co-occupational experiences. In addition, finding the time and appropriate resources within the context of the shelter’s rules and regulations also proved to be very difficult.

CONCLUSION: Without quality co-occupational experiences, young children are unable to gain optimal development. Due to the experience of domestic violence, mothers expressed a decrease in quality of life, directly influencing their ability to participate in meaningful maternal–child interactions.

References

Chemtob, C. M., & Carlson, J. G. (2004). Psychological effects of domestic violence on children and their mothers. International Journal of Stress Management, 11, 209–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.11.3.209

Javaherian, H., Krabacher, V., Andriacco, K., & German, D. (2007). Surviving domestic violence: Rebuilding one’s life. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 21(3), 35–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/J003v21n03_03

Lapierre, S. (2010). Striving to be “good” mothers: Abused women’s experiences of mothering. Child Abuse Review, 19, 342–357. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.1113

Levendosky, A. A., Huth-Bocks, A. C., Shapiro, D. L., & Semel, M. A. (2003). The impact of domestic violence on the maternal–child relationship and preschool-age children’s functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 275–287. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.17.3.275

Sturge-Apple, M. L., Davies, P. T., Cicchetti, D., & Manning, L, G. (2011). Interparental violence, maternal emotional unavailability and children’s cortisol functioning in family contexts. Developmental Psychology, 48, 237–249. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025419