Mothers’ Ways of Knowing: An Exploratory Study of Abused Mothers’ Perceptions of Their Adolescent Sons’ Reactions to Partner Abuse

ABSTRACT

This study sought to understand abused mothers’ perceptions of how their adolescent sons (ages 13–17) have been affected by intimate partner violence in the home. In-depth interviews with 10 mothers who resided in battered women’s shelters illuminated four broad themes: (1) violence experienced by mothers; (2) the impact of violence on mothering; (3) sons’ anger, violence, and rage toward fathers and stepfathers; and (4) mothers’ interpretations of their sons’ reactions to being exposed to violence. A significant finding indicated that, although mothers had to cope with partner violence themselves, they were also cognizant of how violence impacted their sons; and as a result. this may have been a motivating factor to seek shelter services, which was a precursor to leaving their abusers.

KEYWORDS:

• Abused mothers
• intimate partner abuse
• victims
• adolescent males

Disclosure of Interest

The author declares that there are no conflicts to report. The research was supported by a grant from PSC CUNY, Hunter College. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author and should not be construed as reflecting the ideas or policy of Hunter College.

Ethical Standards and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

This Study was supported by a grant from PSC CUNY, Hunter College, Samuel R. Aymer, Principal Investigator.