Abstract
Background:
The psychological impact of Domestic violence and/or abuse (DVA) can continue long after the abuse. There is limited research on psychological interventions for people who have experienced DVA historically. This UK based research explores intergenerational dyads meaning making of the DVA and how they navigated its impact.
Methods:
This research utilised Narrative Inquiry (Riessman, 2008) to explore the stories of two mother-daughter dyads, four total participants who experienced DVA, focussing on how narratives have changed over time and the impact of the dyad's relationship. A novel design was used in interviewing dyads together and then separately to aid in understanding the impact of the relationship. A total of two joint dyadic interviews and four individual interviews were undertaken across the research.
Results:
Three collective stories were identified: (1) “The relationship with DVA”, (2) “Understanding and Connection”, and (3) " Right support at the right time”. Within these collective stories were four sub-stories: (1) “Acts of resistance”, (2) “Mother and daughter”, (3) “Failure of services” and (4) "Embodied lives”. These stories were heavily braided together and spoke to individuals’ resistance particularly through their relationships with each other.
Conclusion:
The research shows dyads who experience DVA are knowledgeable in how abuse can impact them and how they can navigate these impacts. Clinical recommendations that can be drawn from this expertise include: suggestions on vernacular, the necessity for support to be varied in approach and goal, the ability for individuals to access different support throughout their life, the importance of engaging with embodied experiences of distress, the importance of meaning making, the benefits of a more relational-collaborative approach to services management of risk and the value of therapeutic paradigms which privilege relationships, community and navigating intergenerational trauma. This research provides a direction for future research by suggesting the exploration of more heterogeneous groups.
The psychological impact of Domestic violence and/or abuse (DVA) can continue long after the abuse. There is limited research on psychological interventions for people who have experienced DVA historically. This UK based research explores intergenerational dyads meaning making of the DVA and how they navigated its impact.
Methods:
This research utilised Narrative Inquiry (Riessman, 2008) to explore the stories of two mother-daughter dyads, four total participants who experienced DVA, focussing on how narratives have changed over time and the impact of the dyad's relationship. A novel design was used in interviewing dyads together and then separately to aid in understanding the impact of the relationship. A total of two joint dyadic interviews and four individual interviews were undertaken across the research.
Results:
Three collective stories were identified: (1) “The relationship with DVA”, (2) “Understanding and Connection”, and (3) " Right support at the right time”. Within these collective stories were four sub-stories: (1) “Acts of resistance”, (2) “Mother and daughter”, (3) “Failure of services” and (4) "Embodied lives”. These stories were heavily braided together and spoke to individuals’ resistance particularly through their relationships with each other.
Conclusion:
The research shows dyads who experience DVA are knowledgeable in how abuse can impact them and how they can navigate these impacts. Clinical recommendations that can be drawn from this expertise include: suggestions on vernacular, the necessity for support to be varied in approach and goal, the ability for individuals to access different support throughout their life, the importance of engaging with embodied experiences of distress, the importance of meaning making, the benefits of a more relational-collaborative approach to services management of risk and the value of therapeutic paradigms which privilege relationships, community and navigating intergenerational trauma. This research provides a direction for future research by suggesting the exploration of more heterogeneous groups.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Human Systems: Therapy, Culture and Attachments |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 18 Mar 2025 |