Parenting is not a simple task in the most ideal of circumstances, and it is inevitable that the stresses of living in violent circumstances affect how a mother cares for her children. On the one hand, battered women appear to be at a higher risk of becoming aggressive with their children. Compared with the general population, battered women are twice as likely to abuse their children. Significantly, this violence is correlated to the added stress that comes from living within the cycle of violence, since this abuse was eight times more likely to happen in threatening than in safe circumstances. Mothers reported that circumstances were aggravated by actions by the perpetrators to intentionally undermine their parenting practices and that these mothers most often altered their behaviors in the presence of the perpetrator. (Edleson et al 2003:14) This is especially important since, as Bancroft and Silverman (2002) reported,
“The emotional recovery of children who have been exposed to domestic violence appears to depend on the quality of their relationship with the non-battering parent more than on any other single factor..., and thus batterers who create tensions between mothers and children can sabotage the healing process.” (2-3)
On the other hand, battered women also respond to violence with nurture. One study showed
that 24 (25 percent) of the 95 mothers in their survey study stated that the violence toward them negatively affected their parenting, but 23 (24 percent) reported no negative effects on their parenting and 19 (20 percent) stated that the violence toward them increased their own empathy and caring for their children. Mothers in this last group commented that they curtailed negative parenting behaviors they might have used in order to compensate for the violence in the home. (Edleson et al 2003:15)
Even staying in the violent relationship can be a strategy to protect the children. Mothers cited economic, safety, and custody concerns when deciding whether to stay or leave. (Edleson et al 2003: 15)
