Callaghan, J., Alexander, J., Sixsmith, J. and Fellin, L. (2014) “Witness” to violence? Agency and resistance in children’s accounts of domestic abuse. Paper presented to: 8th Annual Keele Counselling Conference: Daring to Make an Impact: Dynamic Qualitative Research, Keele University, 22-23 March 2014. (Unpublished)
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | The review of academic literature on children in situations of domestic abuse clearly highlights their positioning as passive victims of adult violence. This literature positions children as damaged by violence, focusing very heavily on the pathological consequences of growing up with violence. While we acknowledge the negative impact that domestic abuse has on children’s lives, we believe that this dominant professional explanation tells only a partial story, and one that can have a negative and unintended consequence for work with children and families. In particular, we argue these accounts constrain the articulation of more agentic and resistant subjectivities in children living with domestic violence. In this paper we explore how young people themselves talk about their experiences and how they cope in situations of domestic abuse, articulating how they are able to find strategies of resistance, how they are able to be resilient, and how they actively cope with difficult family circumstances. The UNARS project involves individual interviews with 20 young people in 4 different European countries. Here we focus on interviews with participants in the UK, who have grown up with interpersonal violence. These interviews were analysed using Denzin’s (2008) Interpretive Interactionism. We explore the complex ways these young people have found to ‘cope’ with domestic abuse, finding both relational and personal strategies to manage domestic abuse, engaging in creative and intelligent tactics to maintain positive self-identities within a difficult and often painful family context. Findings from interviews will help inform training and therapeutic intervention programmes aimed at enhancing children’s capacity for resilience. Here we consider the potential impact of UNARS research on the health and social care provisions of the European regions we are working in. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | domestic abuse, domestic violence, children, agency, resistance, resilience, qualitative methods, interpretive interactionism |
| Subjects: |
H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Women > HQ767 Children. Child development H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV6001 Criminology > HV6251 Crimes and offences > HV6626 Family violence H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV697 Protection, assistance and relief > HV701 Children |
| Creators: | Callaghan, Jane, Alexander, Jo, Sixsmith, Judith and Fellin, Lisa |
| Funders or Sponsors: | European Commission (Daphne III) |
| Grant Reference Number: | Just/2012/DAP-AG-3461 |
| Projects: | Understanding Agency and Resistance Strategies (UNARS) |
| Northamptonshire and East Midlands: |
Health Social Issues |
| Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: |
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > The Centre for Children and Youth University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Group > Social and Cultural Research in Psychology Group University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Health & Society University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > School of Social Sciences (to 2016) University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Institute of Health and Wellbeing > Centre for Family Life Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology Research Centres > Centre for Health Sciences and Services Research Centres > Centre for Psychology and Social Sciences |
| Date: | 22 March 2014 |
| Date Type: | Presentation |
| Event Title: | 8th Annual Keele Counselling Conference: Daring to Make an Impact: Dynamic Qualitative Research |
| Event Dates: | 22-23 March 2014 |
| Event Location: | Keele University |
| Event Type: | Conference |
| Language: | English |
| Status: | Unpublished |
| URI: | http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/6586 |
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