Potential sources of support for children who have been emotionally abused by parents

The aim of the research was to explore potential sources of support for children who are emotionally abused by their parent figures. Twelve children, aged 7-15 years, reflecting diversity within the UK population, acted as consultants. A questionnaire based on a vignette was developed with the advice of these 12 children and was sanctioned by ethics advisors. The questionnaire was distributed to 15 different schools and was completed by 2220 children aged 9-13 years. The respondents identified the extended family as the most important source of support, with grandparents achieving the highest scores. Two other prominent potential helpers were "a friend" and "ChildLine", a UK telephone helpline for children. Teachers, social workers, health professionals, religious figures and pets were also deemed important sources of assistance by the participants. The prominence of the extended family as a major support was consistent across the various pupil groups. This was an unanticipated finding because some schools were based in communities experiencing considerable dislocation or serving new migrant populations where extended families were no longer close to hand. The findings have implications for the management of cases of child emotional abuse.