Families of four-year-old children experiencing violence: A national survey of parents and public health nurses on help and support

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and child maltreatment (CM) – together referred to as family violence (FV) – often co-occur. In Finland, public health nurses play an important role in identifying FV. They regularly meet families and assess children's health until the child turns seven. This nationwide retrospective cross-sectional survey (FinChildren) aimed to describe and compare help and support needs in violent families from the perspectives of the parents of four-year-old children and public health nurses for advancing families' and professionals' collaboration in preventing FV. The data (N = 7476 families) included the responses of one parent from each family and public health nurses, caring for that certain family. The data analysis encompassed statistical methods. The results showed that 47.0% of the parents reported FV. The public health nurses assessed that 0.7% of the parents would have needed support for CM and 1.3% for IPV. They assessed that the parents involved in FV needed more support for their personal coping (p < 0.001) and intimate relationship (p < 0.017) compared with parents without FV. These parents were also found to have other support needs. We concluded that public health nurses recognise only a fraction of FV occurring in families. Risk assessment tools are needed to enable child and family professionals to better intervene in and prevent FV.