Between chaos and danger: Spotlighting social workers' views in cases of child maltreatment accusations in the context of high-intensity parental disputes

Katz, Carmit; Glucklich, Talia; Piller, Shir; Matty, Daniela Efrat

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104497

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Working with high-conflict families requires more time, energy, and resources than does working with other cases (Saini et al, 2012). Parents and children who are involved in or affected by intense parental conflicts are often in difficult emotional states and experience great distress (Katz et al, 2019). Some social workers have reported parents pressuring their children to act or decide on their behalf (Saini et al, 2019).…”

Section: The Importance Of Trusting Working Relationships For Conflic...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whereas some studies reveal a significant decrease in conflicts between family members (Lewis, 2005; Messmer et al, 2021; Smith, 1995), others show only a negligible decrease (Al et al, 2014) or no effects at all (van Puyenbroeck et al, 2009). Child protection service and family intervention practitioners describe their work with families afflicted by intense conflicts as particularly demanding, as they are affected by higher levels of stress, intense emotions, and feelings of helplessness and frustration (Katz et al, 2019; Saini et al, 2012; Sudland, 2020). Working with high-conflict families requires more time, energy, and resources than does working with other cases (Saini et al, 2012).…”

Section: The Importance Of Trusting Working Relationships For Conflic...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of family interventions on interpersonal conflicts: A network perspective

Fellmann

2023

Journal of Social Work

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Summary Intense conflicts are prevalent in families receiving child welfare services. Research in the field of family interventions usually focusses on dyadic conflicts within the limits of the nuclear family unit, ignoring the larger social context of families. Therefore, this study analyses effects on interpersonal conflicts in personal networks of parents during a family intervention. The theoretical framework is based on the family systems theory, which highlights the role of mutual trust for conflict resolution. This research applied ego-centric network analysis in combination with a longitudinal design. The sample consists of 46 parents who were enrolled in a home-based family intervention in Switzerland. Findings The results show that development of mutual trust between practitioners and the network members of parents is associated with significant decrease in conflict density and conflict reciprocity. Hence, network members experience fewer interactions that are associated with conflict as well as less intense conflicts in the medium term. However, no effects were found on the centrality of parents in interpersonal conflicts. Applications The results of this study suggest that practitioners in family interventions must establish mutual trust with not only parents but also other individuals to promote a less stressful family environment. This emphasizes the importance of a network perspective on interpersonal conflicts in child welfare interventions.

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Section: The Importance Of Trusting Working Relationships For Conflic...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Importance Of Trusting Working Relationships For Conflic...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of family interventions on interpersonal conflicts: A network perspective

Fellmann

2023

Journal of Social Work

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“…Past studies sparsely explored the impacts of divorce, unemployment, and poverty on child abuse using an econometric approach (Van Dolen et al 2013). In line with the family stress theory, tensions at home derived from poverty, unemployment, economic stress, parental conflict, and divorce can increase the risk of child abuse (Wu and Xu 2020;Katz et al 2019). Therefore, it is essential to investigate the impacts of divorce, unemployment, and poverty on child maltreatment in Malaysia, employing a data set covering 30 years, from 1989 to 2019.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impacts of Poverty, Unemployment, and Divorce on Child Abuse in Malaysia: ARDL Approach

et al. 2022

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The increasing number of reported child abuse cases in Malaysia is alarming, with more than 1000 cases reported every year. If this trend continues, it may have detrimental effects on children’s mental development, and far-reaching negative effects for wider society. Examining whether there is some relationship between divorce, unemployment, poverty, inflation, economic growth, and child abuse in Malaysia may help shed some light on the issue and any potential solutions. This study employs the ARDL approach by using data from 1989 to 2019. The results reveal that unemployment, inflation, and economic growth have significant relationships with reported child abuse cases in the long run. However, divorce and poverty do not affect the number of reported child abuse cases in the long run. In the short run, the results show that divorce, economic growth, and unemployment can positively affect the number of reported child abuse cases. Poverty, on the other hand, has a significant and negative relationship with the number of reported child abuse cases in the short run. Family stress originating from economic and social distress and the potential inability of couples to manage stress may exacerbate the risk of child abuse in Malaysia. Social programs are likely needed to help couples handle stress at home, in the form of state-sponsored counselling, educational programs for parents, the provision of social support for an increasing number of dual-career couples, assistance for spouses dealing with divorce, and the protection of children from hostile environments at home, as well as general approaches to the alleviation of poverty.

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“…Children often unwillingly become the center of the legal battle between their parents (Katz et al, 2019 ) and might suffer dire consequences (Davidson et al, 2014 ; van Eldik et al, 2020 ). The current study was designed to spotlight the children trapped in the reality of HIPD, an acute period of their family’s involvement with the welfare and often law systems, as perceived by frontline practitioners.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It is a matter of life or death”: Spotlighting Children in the Context of HIPD as Perceived by Frontline Practitioners

Cohen

Kosher

Katz

2021

Int. Journal on Child Malt.

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It is a wide consensus that high-intensity parental disputes (HIPD) might result in negative ramifications for children. The current study wishes to advance the knowledge regarding what children undergo during the acute time of the dispute, as portrayed by experienced frontline social workers mandated by the court to intervene with parents and their children in the context of HIPD. Ninety-four social workers participated in ten focus groups and five in-depth interviews. A thorough analysis of the narratives revealed three main themes. The first relates to their tremendous fear for the children’s wellbeing, often displayed by the words “burn” and “death.” The second theme addresses the practitioners’ reflections with respect to the various experiences the children undergo during the acute time of HIPD and their risk assessments. The third theme addresses the practitioners’ struggle in identifying how to protect the children during these times. The discussion spotlights the exposure of children to HIPD as a prolonged and chronic risk, with potentially adverse emotional and physical impacts. Key conclusions address the need to advance children’s rights and the protection of children in the context of HIPD.

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Between chaos and danger: Spotlighting social workers' views in cases of child maltreatment accusations in the context of high-intensity parental disputes

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

Effects of family interventions on interpersonal conflicts: A network perspective

Effects of family interventions on interpersonal conflicts: A network perspective

The Impacts of Poverty, Unemployment, and Divorce on Child Abuse in Malaysia: ARDL Approach

“It is a matter of life or death”: Spotlighting Children in the Context of HIPD as Perceived by Frontline Practitioners

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