Alisic Eva, Groot Arend, Snetselaar Hanneke, Stroeken Tielke
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Psychotrauma Centre Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2025 Dec;16(1):2463277. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2463277. Epub 2025 Feb 20.
Optimising support for children and families affected by fatal family violence requires understanding all aspects of their experience. So far, little is known regarding the views of those who provide a home to children bereaved due to parental intimate partner homicide. The aim of the current study was to provide an in-depth exploration of the experiences of caregivers raising children after the loss of a parent due to intimate partner homicide. Within the context of a mixed-methods study among 22 caregivers (16 female, 6 male, aged 33 to 71 years old) related to 35 children and young people (19 female, 16 male), bereaved due to parental intimate partner homicide in the Netherlands, we conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of the qualitative caregiver interviews. Based on caregivers' accounts, we conceptualised four interrelated and ongoing challenges: (1) bringing the children into the family fold; (2) dealing with the perpetrator and relatives; (3) managing underprepared services; and (4) enduring it, mentally and physically. Sticking with their commitment to the children despite these challenges, caregivers also pointed to the potential for positive outcomes or turns of events, and recounted experiences of finding or making meaning. The complexity of the challenges the caregivers in our study faced and their remarkable commitment and perseverance underscore the importance of concerted, continuing efforts to understand and respond to families' needs in the aftermath of parental intimate partner homicide. We discuss practical implications regarding caregivers' assessment of children's needs, mental health care, information provision and agency, mediation of family conflict, provision of respite care, addressing financial and practical needs, and long-term and equitable access to support. We also propose a research agenda involving evaluation of current protocols, in-depth qualitative research, quantitative analyses (where possible based on pooled data), and intervention studies.
优化对受致命家庭暴力影响的儿童和家庭的支持需要了解他们经历的方方面面。到目前为止，对于那些为因父母亲密伴侣杀人而失去双亲的儿童提供住所的人的看法知之甚少。本研究的目的是深入探讨因亲密伴侣杀人导致父母一方死亡后抚养孩子的照料者的经历。在一项针对荷兰22名照料者（16名女性，6名男性，年龄在33至71岁之间）和35名儿童及青少年（19名女性，16名男性）的混合方法研究中，这些儿童及青少年因父母亲密伴侣杀人而失去双亲，我们对照料者的定性访谈进行了反思性主题分析。基于照料者的叙述，我们归纳出四个相互关联且持续存在的挑战：（1）让孩子融入家庭；（2）应对加害者和亲属；（3）应对准备不足的服务；（4）身心承受。尽管面临这些挑战，照料者仍坚持对孩子的承诺，他们还指出了积极结果或情况转变的可能性，并讲述了找到或赋予意义的经历。我们研究中的照料者所面临挑战的复杂性以及他们非凡的承诺和毅力凸显了齐心协力、持续努力去理解并回应父母亲密伴侣杀人事件后家庭需求的重要性。我们讨论了有关照料者对儿童需求的评估、心理健康护理、信息提供与机构、家庭冲突调解、临时照料服务提供、满足经济和实际需求以及长期和公平获得支持等方面的实际意义。我们还提出了一个研究议程，包括对当前方案的评估、深入的定性研究、定量分析（尽可能基于汇总数据）以及干预研究。
