A framework for the prevention and mitigation of injury from family violence in children of parents with mental illness and substance use problems

• The paper applies Haddon's (1980) three methods of injury prevention to child homicide caused by family violence.
• Ten strategies are identified to reduce and mitigate injury risk in this population, with corresponding supporting research evidence.
• A framework addressing the child, the parent, and the social/physical environment, focusing on pre-event, event, and post-event is presented.
• Biases towards modifying the behavior of adults while ignoring that of children became evident through this process.
• Gaps in existing approached are identified, along with corresponding recommendations for future research, policy, and practice.
• The framework is intended to expand the current repertoire of prevention approaches to family violence.

Recognizing the need for a more comprehensive approach to preventing child homicides that result from family violence, the authors applied Haddon's three methods of injury prevention to the context of family violence: modification of the agent of injury; identification of control strategies to intervene in the process of injury; and application of the comprehensive Haddon matrix to explore pre-event, event, and post-event strategies addressing the child, parent, and the environment. Examples of evidence-based strategies were identified to support this approach, and innovative strategies were suggested which build on existing approaches applied to other contexts. Recommendations and implications for research and practice are discussed.