Creating safe atmospheres? Children’s experiences of grandparents’ affective and spatial responses to domestic violence

• While grandparenting literature has primarily discussed intergenerational relations in families with ‘normal’ everyday problems, such as childcare, it has largely neglected more troublesome issues, such as domestic violence. Based on interviews with ten children and teens, this article explores grandchildren’s experiences of how their grandparents have responded when they were being exposed to violence in the intermediate generation. These responses have affective-spatial aspects as the grandparents contributed to what we call ‘safe atmospheres’. Grandparents’ homes often provided a sense of safety, and grandparents at times contributed to a safe atmosphere in their grandchildren’s homes and helped to create safety and comfort in non-domestic places. Some grandparents, however, could be unsupportive and fail to contribute to safe atmospheres. Although physical space is important to create safety, in order to create a safe atmosphere, it has to correspond to a relational movement where grandparents side with their grandchildren. 

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Affect

atmosphere

violence-exposed children

domestic violence

grandchildren

grandparents

Child and Youth Science

barn- och ungdomsvetenskap

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)