The impact of domestic violence on children

The author examines the negative behaviors of children in milieus in which sheltered women report and do not report the occurrence of child abuse. me sample of women was randomly selected from those sheltered in a midwestern regional family-violence center at some point during a 22-month period. Data on children's negative behaviors were collected from women ex post facto by examining the intake forms they completed with shelter workers. The results of the study suggest that social work practitioners take a social constructivist approach in working with children in milieus in which children observe and/or experience abuse and further suggest that social work practitioners work with public/community health professionals on behalf of those children. In addition, the findings indicate that the heuristic nature of the social-constructivist approach in working with children in abusive situations might provide insights into their interpretations of the violence occurring around them.