A Short Note On Disorders And Families Effects On Children

Dysfunction in Families: Effects on Children Sara Laplante University of Connecticut HDFS 2004W Sec.01 October 20, 2014 Dysfunction in Families: Effects on Children Dysfunction is manifested in many families in society and can be detrimental to children. However, the effects of dysfunction in families on children are often overlooked. Studies show that children are affected by dysfunction in families, and the three journal articles that will be summarized in this essay explore this phenomenon. The purpose of exploring this is to gain a better understanding of how to help children who are affected by dysfunction in their families to cope and have better outcomes. If children who are affected by dysfunction in families†¦show more content†¦The dependent variables were the long-term effects of sexual abuse by women—including substance abuse, self-injury, suicide, depression, rage, relationships with women, self-concept and identity issues, discomfort with sex, fear of sexually abusing children, and sexual victimization of others. The study operationalized each of the variables using semis tructured interviews lasting two to three hours long and self-reported experiences. The sample size included fourteen participants ages twenty-three to fifty-nine years old—seven of which were female and seven of which were male. To determine which areas of the participants’ lives were affected by their experience(s) of sexual abuse, researchers utilized interview probes. Participants were asked in the interviews to recall the sexual abuse they endured in childhood and to answer questions about their family background, the sexual abuse, and the long-term effects of the sexual abuse. Professionals who referred participants to the study were consulted to check the validity of victim’s responses; only two professionals did not respond. Researchers analyzed the audiotaped and transcribed interviews to identify themes, and then regrouped parts of each interview according to their index reference. Data was condensed into charts in order to compare and contrast and sea rch for patterns among participants’ experiences. Main findings in Denov’s (2004) study were that most participants reported sexual abuse