"I Worry About My Kids' Safety When They Visit": Mothers' Perceptions of Father/Child Post-Separation Contact in the Context of IPV

Overview

Journal Violence Against Women

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialties Emergency Medicine
Gynecology & Obstetrics

Date 2024 Jan 10

PMID 38196196

Authors

Leslie M Tutty

Kendra L Nixon

H Lorraine Radtke

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

After separation because of intimate partner violence, fathers' contact with children can be problematic. This mixed methods secondary analysis focused on 280 Canadian separated/divorced mothers who were 48.4% White, 45.1% Indigenous, and 6.5% Visible Minority. Of 176 fathers, 105 (59.7%) had regular visits and, 71 (40.3%) visited sporadically; 104 had no contact. Comments from half the mothers (54.3%) with regular father-child visits indicated worry, and 41.9% of all mothers perceived their children as sad/upset and another 14.5% as angry/acting out in response to visitation. Recommendations to address mothers' and children's issues with respect to problematic father-child contact are provided.

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