Westra B, Martin H P
Matern Child Nurs J. 1981 Spring;10(1):41-54.
Twenty children of physically abused women who were temporarily living in shelters were studied. These children, from 2 1/2 to 8 years of age showed significantly poorer cognitive, verbal, motor and quantitative abilities than would be expected in a normal population. They also demonstrated evidence of personality problems, with a concerning penchant for hostile-aggressive behavior. Hearing problems and articulation deficits were common. The children studied were from middle to lower-middle class families. The problems showed in this study group are felt to be an underestimate of the true prevalence of developmental and psychological problems in children of abused women. It is suggested that children are at a point of crisis just as admittedly few services available to abused women, there are even fewer services being provided to the children in such families. This is compounded by the relative unavailability of most recently assaulted women to attend to the emotional and developmental needs of their children. The need for health, developmental, and personality screening for children of abused women is highlighted, as well as the need for crisis intervention programs for such children. Groundwork has been laid through this research for more detailed clinical research to aid children of women who are physically abused. A greater appreciation of the problems encountered will facilitate appropriate interventions to optimize the growth and development of these children.
对20名暂时居住在庇护所的受身体虐待妇女的子女进行了研究。这些年龄在2岁半至8岁之间的儿童在认知、语言、运动和数量能力方面明显比正常人群预期的要差。他们还表现出人格问题的迹象，有出现敌意攻击行为的倾向，令人担忧。听力问题和发音缺陷很常见。所研究的儿童来自中下层阶级家庭。该研究组中显示出的问题被认为低估了受虐待妇女子女中发育和心理问题的实际发生率。有人指出，儿童正处于危机之中，诚然，为受虐待妇女提供的服务很少，而为这类家庭中的儿童提供的服务就更少了。最近遭受袭击的妇女大多无暇顾及子女的情感和发育需求，这使情况更加复杂。强调了对受虐待妇女子女进行健康、发育和人格筛查的必要性，以及为这类儿童设立危机干预项目的必要性。通过这项研究为更详细的临床研究奠定了基础，以帮助受身体虐待妇女的子女。对所遇到问题的更多认识将有助于采取适当干预措施，以优化这些儿童的成长和发展。
