A meta-synthesis of children's qualitative evidence about family violence

Investigators:

Prof Morag McArthur, Dr Tim Moore, and Debbie Noble-Carr

Funding Source:

Department of Social Services

Aim:

This 6 month project aimed to assess the extent and nature of children’s qualitative evidence that is available to inform social policy and practice in the domain of family and domestic violence. This project carried out a meta–analysis of the available evidence to explore and synthesise knowledge from qualitative investigations of children’s views and experiences of family and domestic violence. Due to overlapping domains; child protection, family support, family homelessness, family relationships (separation and divorce) research were included.

The questions framing the project included: what do children say about their experience of family violence and what do say they need from the service system? The project also identified the current research gaps in what we know children think about these issues. Using QRQC as a systematic method for assessing quality, key findings were synthesised both at a descriptive level (what do children commonly say) and at an interpretive level (what do the findings mean for policy and services). This analysis aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the possible evidence available to policy makers.

For more information about this project contact Prof Morag McArthur.