Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T06:06:06.887Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Understanding Children's Resources in the Context of Family Violence through a Collaborative Songwriting Method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2018

Rebecca Fairchild Open the ORCID record for Rebecca Fairchild [Opens in a new window]  and
Katrina Skewes McFerran Open the ORCID record for Katrina Skewes McFerran [Opens in a new window]
Rebecca Fairchild*
Affiliation:
Faculty of VCA and MCM, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Katrina Skewes McFerran
Affiliation:
Faculty of VCA and MCM, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Rebecca Fairchild, The University of Melbourne, Building 862, 234 St Kilda Road, Southbank, Victoria 3006, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The majority of literature about children experiencing family violence focuses on reporting ‘problems’ and highlighting detrimental outcomes for children. In contrast, there is little acknowledgement of children's personal resources and capacities in times of crisis.

This article describes a participatory arts-based research project involving 10 pre-adolescent children. The research aimed to explore children's individual resources and to highlight the value of giving voice to children through participatory processes. A collaborative songwriting method sought to co-construct knowledge with children about what helped them to ‘do well’ in their lives. An illustrative example demonstrates the collaborative process of engaging children throughout the data generation, collaborative analysis and presentation of the findings. The children described a range of resources and supports in their lives, such as friends, family, sport, pets, journaling, hope and creativity. Five themes explore the role these resources play in children's lives: seeking refuge, wanting to feel safe, hoping for a better future, feeling cared for and being self-determined. The results emphasise the ongoing need to build upon existing resources in children's lives and to support them to navigate access to additional resources. We advocate for participatory approaches that provide opportunities for children's voices to be heard, fostered and responded to.

Keywords

family violenceparticipatory researchchildrenmusic therapycollaborationarts-based research
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 43 , Issue 4 , December 2018 , pp. 255 - 266
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alderson, P. (2007). Competent children? Minors’ consent to health care treatment and research. Social Science and Medicine, 65 (11), 2272–2283. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.08.005Google Scholar
Baker, F. (2015). Therapeutic songwriting: Developments in theory, methods and practice. London, UK: Palgrave MacMillan.Google Scholar
Baker, F.A., & MacDonald, R.A. (2013). Flow, identity, achievement, satisfaction and ownership during therapeutic songwriting experiences with university students and retirees. Musicae Scientiae, 17 (2), 131–146. doi: 10.1177/1029864913476287Google Scholar
Barone, T., & Eisner, E.W. (2012). Arts based research. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
Beer, L.E. (2016). From embedded to embodied: Including music in arts-based music therapy research. Music Therapy Perspectives, 34 (1), 33–40. doi:10.1093/mtp/miv006Google Scholar
Bolger, L. (2015). Being a player: Understanding collaboration in participatory music projects with communities supporting marginalised young people. Qualitative Inquiries in Music Therapy, 10, 77–126.Google Scholar
Bruscia, K. (2014). Defining music therapy (3rd ed.) University Park, IL: Barcelona Publishers.Google Scholar
Callaghan, J.E.M., Fellin, L.C., Alexander, J.H., Mavrou, S., & Papathanasiou, M. (2017). Children and domestic violence: Emotional competencies in embodied and relational contexts. Psychology of Violence, 7 (3), 333–342.Google Scholar
Christensen, P., & James, A. (2008). Research with children: Perspectives and practices. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Clark, J., & Richards, S. (2017). The cherished conceits of research with children: Does seeking the agentic voice of the child through participatory methods deliver what it promises? Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, 22, 127–147.Google Scholar
Evans, A., & Coccoma, P. (2014). Trauma-informed care: How neuroscience influences practice. Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Fairchild, R., & McFerran, K. (2018). “Music is everything”: Using collaborative group songwriting as an arts-based method with children experiencing homelessness and family violence. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy. Advanced Online Access. Published 29th September 2018. doi: 10.1080/08098131.2018.1509106Google Scholar
Fairchild, R., McFerran, K.S., & Thompson, G. (2017). A critical interpretive synthesis of the ways children's needs and capacities are represented in the homelessness and family violence literature. Children Australia, 42 (1), 18–29. doi: 10.1017/cha.2016.46Google Scholar
Finkelstein, N., Rechberger, E., Russell, L. A., VanDeMark, N. R., Noether, C. D., O'Keefe, M. . . . Rael, V., , M. (2005). Building resilience in children of mothers who have co-occurring disorders and histories of violence: Intervention model and implementation issues. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 32 (2), 141–154.Google Scholar
Greig, A.D., Taylor, J., & MacKay, T. (2012). Doing research with children: A practical guide. London, UK: Sage.Google Scholar
Hart, A., Gagnon, E., Eryigit-Madzwamuse, S., Cameron, J., Aranda, K., Rathbone, A., & Heaver, B. (2016). Uniting resilience research and practice with an inequalities approach. SAGE Open, 6 (4). doi:10.1177/2158244016682477Google Scholar
Hines, L. (2015). Children's coping with family violence: Policy and service recommendations. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 32, 109–119. doi: 10.1007/s10560-014-0333-9Google Scholar
Hopper, E., Bassuk, E., & Olivet, J. (2010). Shelter from the storm: Trauma-informed care in homelessness services settings. The Open Health Services and Policy Journal, 3, 80–100.Google Scholar
Humphreys, C., Thiara, R.K., & Skamballis, A. (2011). Readiness to change: Mother-child relationship and domestic violence intervention. British Journal of Social Work, 41 (1), 166–184. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcq046Google Scholar
Kraftl, P. (2013). Beyond ‘voice’, beyond ‘agency’, beyond ‘politics’? Hybrid childhoods and some critical reflections on children's emotional geographies. Emotion, Space and Society, 9, 13–23.Google Scholar
Krüger, V., & Stige, B. (2014). Between rights and realities – music as a structuring resource in child welfare everyday life: A qualitative study. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 24 (2), 99–122. doi: 10.1080/08098131.2014.890242Google Scholar
Leavy, P. (2015). Method meets art: Arts-based research practice. New York, NY: Guilford University Press.Google Scholar
Lundy, L., McEvoy, L., & Byrne, B. (2011). Working with young children as co researchers: An approach informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Early Education & Development, 22 (5), 714–736. doi: 10.1080/10409289.2011.596463Google Scholar
MacDonald, S., & Viega, M. (2012). Hear our voices: A music therapy songwriting program and the message of the Little Saints through the medium of rap. In Hadley, S. & Yancy, G. (Eds.), Therapeutic uses of rap and hip-hop (pp. 153–171). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
MacMillan, H.L., Wathen, C.N., & Varcoe, C.M. (2013). Intimate partner violence in the family: Considerations for children's safety. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37, 1186–1191.Google Scholar
Madan, A.P. (2008). Ma mere et moi: Creative arts in a group treatment for mothers and their children. In Brooke, S. L. (Ed.), The use of the creative therapies with survivors of domestic violence (pp. 270–299). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher.Google Scholar
Malchiodi, C. (2008). A group art and play therapy programme for children from violent homes. In Malchiodi, C. A. (Ed.), Creative interventions with traumatized children (pp. 247–263). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
McFerran, K. (2004). Using songs with groups of teenagers: How does it work?. Social Work with Groups, 27 (2), 143–157.Google Scholar
Morris, A., Hegarty, K., & Humphreys, C. (2012). Ethical and safe: Research with children about domestic violence. Research Ethics, 8 (2), 125–139. doi: 10.1177/1747016112445420Google Scholar
Mudaly, N., & Goddard, C. (2009). The ethics of involving children who have been abused in child abuse research. The International Journal of Children's Rights, 17 (2), 261–281.Google Scholar
Mudaly, N., Graham, A., & Lewis, N. (2014). “It takes me a little longer to get angry now”: Homeless children traumatised by family violence reflect on an animal therapy group. Children Australia, 39 (1), 42–48. doi: 10.1017/cha.2013.39.Google Scholar
Mullender, A., Hague, G., Iman, U.F., Kelly, L., Malos, E., & Regan, L. (2014). Children's perspectives on domestic violence. London, UK: SAGE Publishers.Google Scholar
Överlien, C. (2010). Children exposed to domestic violence: Conclusions from the literature and challenges ahead. Journal of Social Work, 10 (1), 80–97.Google Scholar
Överlien, C. (2016). ‘Do you want to do some arm wrestling?’: Children's strategies when experiencing domestic violence and the meaning of age. Child and Family Social Work, 22, 680–688. doi: 10.1111/cfs.12283Google Scholar
Överlien, C., & Hydén, M. (2009). Children's actions when experiencing domestic violence. Childhood, 16 (4), 479–496. doi: 10.1177/0907568209343757Google Scholar
Piercy, F. P., & Benson, K. (2005). Aesthetic forms of data representation in qualitative family therapy research. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 31 (1), 107–119.Google Scholar
Pinter, A., & Zandian, S. (2015). ‘I thought it would be tiny little one phrase that we said in a huge big pile of papers’: Children's reflections on their involvement in participatory research. Qualitative Research, 15 (2), 235–250. doi: 10.1177/1468794112465637Google Scholar
Rolling, J.H. (2013). Arts-based research primer. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publisher.Google Scholar
Rolvsjord, R. (2010). Resource-oriented music therapy in mental health care. Gilsum, NH: Barcelona Publishers.Google Scholar
Stige, B., & Aarø, L.E. (2012). Invitation to community music therapy. New York, NY: Routledge Publishers.Google Scholar
Stige, B., Ansdell, G., Elefant, C., & Pavlicevic, M. (2010). Where music helps: Community music therapy in action and reflection. London, UK: Ashgate Publishing Limited.Google Scholar
Stige, B., & McFerran, K. (2016). Action research. Music therapy research (3rd ed.) [epub edition] (pp. 2727–2806). Barcelona Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.barcelonapublishers.com/MusicTherapy-Research-ThirdEditionGoogle Scholar
Tutty, L.M., & Wager, J. (1994). The evolution of a group for young children who have witnessed family violence. Social Work with Groups, 17 (1–2), 89–104. doi:10.1300/J009v17n01_06.Google Scholar
Viega, M., & Forinash, M. (2016). Arts-based research. In Wheeler, B. & Murphy, K. (Eds.), Music therapy research (3rd ed.) [epub edition] (pp. 2727–2806). Barcelona Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.barcelonapublishers.com/Music-TherapyResearch-ThirdEditionGoogle Scholar
Zanders, M.L. (2012). The musical and personal biographies of adolescents with foster care experience. Qualitative Inquiries in Music Therapy, 7, 71–109.Google Scholar