Ipv's Drawings Effects On Children

Prior research suggests that children’s drawings may provide insights into mental representations of self and their interpersonal relations within families (Clarke, Ungerer, Chahoud, Johnson, & Steifel, 2002; Fury, Carlson, & Sroufe, 1997). Early research notes that discrete signs in the family drawings by children ages 5-7 years are significantly related to the quality of relationships with caregivers (Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985; Fury et al., 1997). Discrete signs include the location of figures, distance between the parents and child, size of figures, lacking color or detail, and presence of vulnerability. Researchers examining children’s drawings posit that aspects such as vulnerability, emotional distance, and tension/anger, as reflected …show more content…
Exposure to IPV is not only a frightening experience for children (Cummings & Davies, 2010), but could also have a detrimental effect on children’s sense of safety and security in the family, and a belief in the availability of his or her caregivers to provide care and nurturance (Cummings & Davies, 2010). Consequently, IPV may have broader effects on the way that children perceive close relationships. This perspective is supported by recent studies using narrative tasks with young children that found that exposure to violence can affect how children view family relationships. Using story stem methods, Shamir, Shudlich, and Cummings (2001) reported that children exposed to hostile parental conflict were more likely to portray the adult-adult relationship and parent-child interactions as negative. Grych, Wachsmuth-Schlaefer, and Klockow (2002) reported that children from violent families exhibited less positive representations of themselves and their mothers when compared to children not exposed to interparental conflict and