The Peaceabilities program is the result of a number of research studies designed to find ways to break the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence. We wanted to understand why child witnesses of interparental violence were more likely than other children to perpetuate violence and determine what could be done to decrease their use of violence. Our studies succeeded in discovering three major findings:
- Critical patterns of thoughts and emotions in children who have witnessed interparental violence that are not found in other children
- The types of conflict that are most likely to erupt into violent episodes
- Interventions that can reduce the use of violence in child witnesses and other children. A few of the other significant findings follow:
Topic 1:
Not all children who witness interparental violence become more violent than other children. However, a number of child witnesses, particularly boys, are significantly more violent and need preventive measures to reduce their use of violence.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., Hendrix, S. B., & Hunsaker, M. (2004). Individual differences in using violence and practicing peace in peer conflicts among children who have and have not witnessed interpersonal violence. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 4, 101-123.
Ballif-Spanvill, B. (2003, September). The impact of witnessing interparental violence on children. Paper presented at the Women’s Research Colloquium, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., & Hendrix, S. B. (2003, April). Identifying child witnesses of interparental violence who use violence in hypothetical and simulated conflicts with peers. Poster presented at the Safety in Numbers: Working Together from Research into Practice, Center for Disease Control Conference, Atlanta, GA.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., Hendrix, S. B., & Hunsaker, M. D. (2002, August). Individual differences in dealing with peer conflicts in children who have and have not witnessed domestic violence. Paper presented at the Victimization of Children and Youth Research Conference, Portsmouth, NH.
Ballif-Spanvill, B. (2001, February). Peaceful and violent behavior in children from abusive and normal families. Invited address to the Honors Symposium, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
Clayton, C. J., Ballif-Spanvill, B., Barlow, S. H., & Beyers, M. S. (1999, August). Scaling children’s peacemaking tendencies and inclinations toward violence. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Clayton, C. J., Ballif-Spanvill, B., & Beyers, M. (1998, October). Measures of interpersonal peacemaking and aggression in children. Poster presented at the Fourth International Conference on Children Exposed to Family Violence, San Diego, CA.
Topic 2:
In general, girls who witness violence in their homes know more strategies to resolve conflicts, possibly because they have learned behavior from their mothers as they tried to make peace with their abusive husbands. These girls also have intentions to create peace and know how to do it in different types of conflicts. Male witnesses, and particularly a small subset of boys with very violent tendencies, see violence as the primary strategy they have at hand to resolve conflicts.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., & Hendrix, S. B. (2003). Gender, types of conflict, and individual differences in the use of violent and peaceful strategies among children who have and have not witnessed interparental violence. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 73, 141-153.
Topic 3:
In comparison with other children, both girls and boys who witness interparental violence distort the meaning of victims’ and perpetrators’ behavior. They attribute more violence to perpetrators of violence and more innocence to victims of violence. Because witness children attribute more violent emotions to perpetrators, they may react strongly to perpetrators with more passivity or aggression to protect themselves.
Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., Nichols, R. & Kramer, R. E. (2008). Influence of interparental violence on children’s violent and peaceful emotions in conflict scenarios. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 8(4).
Kramer, R., Ballif-Spanvill, B., & Clayton, C. (2008, March). The effect of witnessing domestic violence on children’s attributions of emotions. Women’s Research Colloquium, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., Nichols, R., & Kramer, R. E. (2007, May). The effect of witnessing domestic violence in children’s attributions of emotion. Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science, Washington, DC.
Topic 4:
Child witnesses also view themselves differently from the way other children view themselves. While they see themselves as engaging in peaceful behavior, they do not feel that they are as valuable as other children.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., Nichols, R., & Kramer, R. E. (2009). Violent and peaceful self-views of child witnesses and nonwitnesses. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Topic 5:
Young sons of abusive fathers are most likely to become violent when they are excluded by others, such as being personally rejected or left out. This finding bears striking similarity to the evidence that violent male partners are more likely to be violent in conflicts in which they feel insulted, rejected, or abandoned.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., & Hendrix, S. B. (2007). Witness and nonwitness children’s violent and peaceful behavior in different kinds of simulated conflict with peers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77(2), 206-215.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., & Clayton, C. J. (1998, July). Peacemaking within potentially violent situations. Poster presented at the American Psychological Society Conference, Washington, DC.
Topic 6:
These findings provide the foundation for PEACEABILITIES, an intervention that increases children’s abilities to be peaceful in interpersonal relationships. This intervention focuses on developing the internal strengths and understandings that empower children to prevent themselves from being submissive or violent, to solve conflicts in non-violent ways, to value themselves and others, and to be proactively peaceful in their relationships.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., & Scoresby, C. J. (2008). Developing PEACEABILITIES in children. In Clarke-Habibi, S. (Ed.), Educating for a civilization of peace: Proceedings of the 2007 International Education for Peace Conference: November 14-17, Vancouver, Canada (pp. 162-176). USA and the United Kingdom: Lightning Source.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., & Scoresby, C. J. (2007, November). Developing PEACEABILITIES in children. Paper presented at the International Education for Peace, Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., & Nichols, R. (2006, April). The missing step in developing children’s abilities to live peacefully with others. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., & Bushman, B. (2005, May). Developing the abilities children need to live peacefully with others. Paper presented at the Third Annual Conference in Violence in the World of Our Youth, San Diego, CA.
Clayton, C. J., Ballif-Spanvill, B., Hunsaker, M. D., & Spendlove, S. (2002, September). Effective violence prevention, conflict resolution, and peace programs for children. Paper presented at the Seventh International Conference on Family Violence, San Diego, CA.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., Barlow, S., & Hunsaker, M. D. (2002, August). Target skills and teaching techniques in effective antiviolence and peace education programs for children. Paper presented at the Ninth Annual International Conference on Education, Spirituality, and the Whole Child, London, England.
Clayton, C. J., Ballif-Spanvill, B., & Hunsaker, M. D. (2001). Preventing violence and teaching peace: A review of promising and effective antiviolence, conflict-resolution, and peace programs for elementary school children. Journal of Applied and Preventative Psychology, 10, 1-33.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., Barlow, S. H., & Reber, J. S. (1999, August). Teaching peacemaking skills to children using multiple ways of learning. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., & Clemmer, J. (1998, October). Curricular experiences designed to teach interpersonal peacemaking skills to children from violent and normal families. Poster presented at the Fourth International Conference on Children Exposed to Family Violence, San Diego, CA.
Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., Barlow, S. H., Clemmer, J., & Beyers, M. (1998, July). Design and evaluation of activities to teach peacemaking skills to children from normal and violent families: Conceptual framework. Paper presented at the Program Evaluation and Family Violence Research: An International Conference, Durham, NH.
Beyers, M., Clayton, C. J., Ballif-Spanvill, B., Barlow, S. H., & Clemmer, J. (1998, July). Design and evaluation of activities to teach peacemaking skills to children from normal and violent families: Measures and evaluation. Paper presented at the Program Evaluation and Family Violence Research: An International Conference, Durham, NH.
Clayton, C. J., Ballif-Spanvill, B., Barlow, S. H., Beyers, M., & Clemmer, J. (1998, July). Design and evaluation of activities to teach peacemaking skills to children from normal and violent families: Structure of the experiment. Paper presented at the Program Evaluation and Family Violence Research: An International Conference, Durham, NH.
Clemmer, J., Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J. Barlow, S. H. & Beyers, M. (1998, July). Design and evaluation of activities to teach peacemaking skills to children from normal and violent families: Curriculum considerations. Paper presented at the Program Evaluation and Family Violence Research: An International Conference, Durham, NH.