WORKING WITH TEENS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

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WORKING WITH TEENS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

• An Opportunity to Break the Cycle

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Adolescent Development Framework

• Vulnerabilities
• Barriers
• Strengths

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TEEN DEVELOPMENT TASKS

• SEPARATION
• IDENTITY
• COMPETENCY
• RELATIONSHIPS

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Separation

• Increased sense of autonomy from the family
• Increased peer group influence and desire for
  acceptance
• Forging sustaining ties with peers and adults
  outside the family

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Impact of DV on Separation

• Accelerated autonomy/responsibility put into
  caretaking roles and/or premature independence
• Poorly developed family skills for respectful
  communication and negotiation
• Possibly more embarrassed by family resulting in
  shame, secrecy, insecurity

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Identity

• Self worth more strongly linked to view of
  physical attractiveness
• Physical changes brought on by puberty

• Consolidating a coherent identity including
  gender, vocational, ethnicity
• Increased influence by media

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Impact of DV on Identity

• View of self may be distorted by abusers
  degradation
• May experience eating disorders and use image
  management activities
• May use increased physical size to try to stop
  the violence or impose own will with intimidation
  or aggression

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Competency

• Increased capacity for abstract reasoning
• Broader view of the world
• Attempts to exhibit newfound intelligence and
  ideas
• Looks for opportunities to show ability to take
  care of themselves

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Impact of DV on Competency

• All or nothing interpretations of experiences
• May be predisposed toward attitudes associated
  with violence
• May be limited in ability to seek areas of mastery

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Relationships

• Dating raises issues of sexuality and intimacy
• Developing relationship skills
• Mastering an upsurge of sexual and aggressive
  impulses
• Navigating gender roles

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Impact of DV on Relationships

• Difficulty establishing healthy relationships
• Fear of abuse or being abusive
• May avoid intimacy or seek premature intimacy
• Teen pregnancy

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IMPACT INFLUENCED BY

• GENDER
• AGE
• BIRTH ORDER
• AMOUNT OF EXPOSURE
• INTERPRETATION OF THE ABUSE
• WHO THE ABUSER WAS

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Barriers in Helping

• Resist Authority
• Sense of Invincibility
• Peers Can Help/Hurt
• Want Control
• Lack of Life Experience

• Resist Adult Intervention
• Lack of Social Supports
• Risk Taking

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Coping
Unhealthy Coping

• Uses drugs or alcohol
• Stays away from home/runs away
• Sleeps all the time or not at all
• Never wants to talk, tries to forget
• Yells, blames, uses aggression
• Fights, breaks things
• Gets involved in criminal or gang activities

• Has sex looking for love
• Thinks of suicide or attempts
• Practices self-injury
• Develops eating disorder
• Poor school performance

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CASE SCENARIO

• 15 year old boy
• Has 13 year old sister
• Dad recently left home after a domestic violence
  arrest
• What cognitive, emotional, behavioral, social,
  and/or physical symptoms might you see?
• Discuss how cultural differences might influence
  the developmental impact.

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Coping

• Healthy Coping
• Gets involved in school activities/community
  service
• Talks with friends for support
• Talks with brothers or sisters
• Writes poetry, stories, or in a journal
• Uses art or music
• Does sports, exercise, self-care
• Goes to counseling or support group
• Gets involved in peer-education, making a
  difference

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Working with Teens

• Relationship, relationship, relationship!
• Empower
• Utilize peers
• Support need for autonomy
• Remember the invincibility
• Address drug/alcohol use, mental health, physical
  health
• Groups often best modality
• Recognize the challenges of confidentiality
• Provide information on healthy relationships

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ALLIES IN HEALING

• Schools
• Juvenile Justice
• Youth Programs/Workers
• Youth and Family Agencies
• Teen Centers
• Teen Parent Programs
• Teen Clinics
• Teen Advocates

• Teen Crisis Lines
• Faith Communities
• Groups like Voices
• Step-Up