Children ’s Sense of Belonging in the Context of Post-separation Parental Stalking: Finnish Children’s Experiences of their Family Relations

AbstractDrawing from previous research on domestic violence and stalking, this study addresses children ’s experiences of their family relations in post-separation parental stalking contexts from the perspective of stalking as a form of violence against women and children. Despite the fact that violence perpetrated by a parent fundamentally changes family dynamics and children’s perceptions of fam ily security, research on children’s family relations in the course of domestic violence or stalking has rarely addressed children’s sense of belonging. The aim of this paper is to augment our understanding of children’s experiences of family relations in connection with parental stalking. The research question is: How do children experience their belonging in family relations in the context of post-separation parental stalking? A total of 31 children and young people aged 2–21 participated in the study. The data were collected through interviews and therapeutic action group sessions w ith the children. The qualitative data analysis was content-oriented. Four dimensions of children’s sense of belonging were identified: (1) Varying belonging, (2) distancing belonging, (3) non-belonging and (4) holding belonging. The first three dimensions are constructed in relation to the child ’s stalking father, while the fourth one includes the mother, siblings and other relationships that provide safety and comfort. The dimensions are parallel and not mutually exclusive. The stud...
Source: Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma - Category: Child Development Source Type: research