Interparental violence: professionals’ perspectives in the child protection system

Abstract

Study purpose: Based on the cognitive-contextual model developed by Grych and Fincham (1990), this study explored the role of the Exposure to Interparental Violence (EIV) on adolescents’ coping and functioning from the perspectives of Portuguese professionals in the Child Protection System (CPS). Participants: Nineteen professionals from three Child Protection Agencies participated in this study (100% females). The target subjects of professionals perspectives were adolescents aged between 10 and 16 years old (M = 13.58; SD = 1.98) who have a CPS record managed by these professionals. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview guide based on the theoretical model and analysed with a thematic analysis strategy. Results: Findings revealed 7 main themes, of which two emerged exclusively from the data (i.e., Risk Factors for Interparental Conflict; Impact of the Conflict in Individual and Family Functioning) and the remaining five were anchored in the cognitive-contextual theoretical framework (i.e., Interparental Conflict; Distal and Proximal Context; Primary and Secondary Processing; Affect; Coping Behaviour and Consequences). Conclusions: This research enabled a description of the underlying aspects of the multidimensionality of EIV, and the results will be discussed considering its implications for the evaluation and intervention in this context.