Children’s actions when experiencing domestic violence

Abstract: The aim of this article is, by analysing childrens discourses, to investigate their actions or absence of actions during a domestic violence episode. The empirical data are recorded group therapy sessions and individual interviews with children who have grown up experiencing their fathers violence against their mothers. The analysis shows that the childrens stories contain two aspects of actions: one related to the actions during the ongoing episode, and one the child perceives as possible/desirable for the future. The findings are discussed in the light of Lazarus and Folkmans theory of coping.