The Need for Strengths-Based Measures for Parent Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Call to Action

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is more common in households with children than without. Yet, persons who survive IPV and are parents are a marginalized group often neglected by clinical and research discourses alike. Parents who survive IPV are often stigmatized as suboptimal parents due to the challenges they face, indicating the need for clinical assessments that are strengths-based. At present, there is no strengths-based, brief assessment used in clinical practice with this population, and it is imperative that the social work profession develop such a tool. Through this conceptual article, we seek to offer a way forward in providing a strengths-based measure for parenting survivors of IPV. We begin with an overview of the realities of parenting in contexts of IPV and review measures used for persons who survive IPV, and for parents, respectively. We then propose a specific framework for developing a strengths-based assessment tool for parents who survive IPV which has potential to provide more nuanced and targeted support. We conclude with a discussion of clinical social work implications, and advocate for strengths-based approaches in measures as well as all social work interventions.