Programs

• Rates of IPV, (also known as domestic violence) and child maltreatment, are alarmingly high
• Child witnessing of IPV is a major national concern
• Approximately 40% of children from IPV homes are abused themselves
• Child maltreatment (abuse, neglect) represents a gross violation of the rights of a vulnerable and dependent child
• Child maltreatment indicates family troubles, as well as neighborhood and community problems
• To develop effective, culturally competent programs to prevent IPV and child maltreatment within the African American community, we must learn more about the relation between IPV and child maltreatment within this community, with attention to risk and protective factors
  
  
  What is the SAFETY Project?
• Research project to understand the relation between an African-American mother and her child as it relates to intimate partner violence (IPV)
• Support groups for children from IPV homes
• Parenting support groups
• Support groups for abused women
  
  Goals of the Research Project
• Interview 150 African American mothers with a history of IPV and their children between age 8 and 12 - To date, 54 mother-child dyads have been interviewed
  
• Interview 150 African American mothers without a history of IPV and their children between age 8 and 12 - To date, 35 mother-child dyads have been interviewed
  
• Determine the level of IPV in the home
  
• Understand what the child has witnessed in the home and whether or not the child has been maltreated
  
• Ascertain those parent psychological factors, child psychological factors, family factors, coping variables, social support variables, and community variables that account for the link between IPV and both child adjustment and maltreatment
  
• Maintain the safety of women and children and provide them with resources to help them live a violence free life
  
  
• Research Project Findings
• Finding from this project have been presented at the New York Academy of Sciences in March 2003 at a conference entitled “Roots of Mental Illness in Children” and will be published as follows:
  Kaslow, N.J., Heron, S., Roberts, D.K., Thompson, M., Guessous, O., & Jones, C. (in press). Family and community factors that predict internalizing and externalizing symptoms in low-income, African American children: A preliminary report. New York Academy of Sciences.
  Preliminary data on low-income, African American children between the ages of 8 to 12 have found; children’s internalizing distress was related to their mothers’ IPV status and maternal psychological distress. Levels of family cohesion and maternal psychological distress were related to the child’s externalizing distress.
  
• Finding from this project have been presented at the University of Rochester School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry (April 2003) and at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Toronto, Canada (August 2003)
  
  Preliminary data from these analyses reveal that low income, African American children who witness domestic violence have more internalizing and externalizing emotional and behavioral problems than children from nonabusive homes according to both mother and child report; children from homes in which there is physical abuse are most vulnerable to exhibiting psychological problems; children’s psychological distress can be predicted by their mother’s level of psychological distress, the presence and severity of IPV in the home, levels of family closeness, and amount of neighborhood disorder; and children from IPV + homes are more likely to be abused themselves.
  
  
• Principal Investigator: Nadine Kaslow, Ph.D. -- nkaslow@emory.edu
  Co-Principal Investigator: Sheryl Heron, MD, MPH
  
  This project is funded through a grant received by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/ and estimated to continue for three years.
  
  The SAFETY project offers
• Resource Room Team members assist women with housing, jobs, parenting, childcare, mental health, substance abuse, legal advocacy, and other resources
• Support Groups - Weekly onsite support groups for women and children
• Resources - Snacks, books, toys for children, and personal care supplies for women
  
  
  COMMUNITY DONATIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED
  
  
  Contact the SAFETY Project
  Grady Health System
  Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  80 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive
  Atlanta, GA 30303
  (404) 616-2895
  Administrative Project Coordinator: Gabrielle Hargrove
  Clinical Project Coordinator: Sigrid Kennebrew, Ph.D.
  
  Community Referrals
  Georgia Shelter Hotline 800-33-HAVEN
  Georgia Commission on Family Violence 404-657-3412
  Georgia Network to End Sexual Assault 404-659-6482
  Grady Health System Rape Crisis Center 404-616-4861
  Men Stopping Violence 404-688-1376
  Partnership Against Domestic Violence 404-870-9600
  Women’s Resource Center to End
  Domestic Violence 404-508-9717
  
  Links
  Family Violence Prevention Fund http://www.endabuse.org
  Men Stopping Violence http://www.menstoppingviolence.org/
  Georgia Safe Site http://www.gasafesite.org
  National Coalition Against Domestic Violence http://www.ncadv.org
  Violence Against Women Online Resources  http://www.vaw.umn.edu/dv.asp