FY 1994 Annual Report to the Regents

Preventing Domestic Violence --
Research at the University of Michigan

Domestic violence is the single major cause of injury to women, exceeding street rapes, muggings and auto accidents. Beside physical injury, domestic violence also takes a long-term emotional and social toll. Children who grow up in families where violence occurs suffer terribly. Sandy Graham-Bermann, assistant professor of psychology, has been studying the effects of violence on school-age children who live in shelters for families fleeing domestic violence. Her initial assessment work has been supported by OVPR. Now Graham-Bermann is developing and testing intervention programs for mothers and children in families where violence occurs. This intervention work is supported by a $400,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control.

More than half the school-age children in domestic violence shelters show clinical levels of anxiety or post traumatic stress syndrome. Without intervention, these children are at high risk for delinquency, substance abuse and difficulties in their own relationships, including duplicating the very violence they fear.

Graham-Bermann's program gives mothers and their children knowledge about domestic violence and strategies for protecting themselves. Children will have a place where they can address their worries and concerns without fear of reprisal or ridicule. Abused mothers will participate in groups to teach them to understand the impact of domestic violence on their children, to enhance parenting skills, and to learn about the impact of this violence in their own lives. Graham-Bermann hopes this program leads to ways to stop domestic violence from being passed from one generation to the next.