Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS

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FACTSHEET

September 2015

Promoting Protective Factors 

for Children Exposed to 

Domestic Violence: A Guide 

for Practitioners

WHAT’S INSIDE

Why focus on 

protective factors? 

Lessons from the 

research literature 

Using protective factors 

for children exposed 

to domestic violence 

Where to go from here? 

Conclusion

Resources

Protective factors are conditions or attributes 

of individuals, families, communities, or the 

larger society that, when present, promote wellbeing and reduce the risk for negative outcomes. 

These factors may “buffer” the effect of risk 

exposure and, importantly, may help individuals 

and families negotiate difficult circumstances 

and fare better in school, work, and life.

Why Focus on Protective Factors? 

Children who are exposed to domestic violence are 

likely to be exposed to other conditions that put 

them at risk for negative outcomes. In addition, these 

children are considered to be in risk as a result of 

their experience with violence. Practitioners working 

with these children, youth, and families must both 

address their immediate safety and concrete needs 

while effectively building strengths at the individual, 

relationship, and community levels. Intervention 

and prevention efforts intended to reduce risk 

factor exposure can be effective, but they may 

also take longer to show evidence of impact. 
This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/guide-domesticviolence/.

Building protective factors for children exposed to 

domestic violence can help increase resilience in the short 

term. It can also promote skills, personal characteristics, 

knowledge, relationships, and opportunities that offset 

risk factors and contribute to improved well-being and 

positive longer term outcomes. 

Lessons From the Research Literature

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) 

commissioned Protective Factors for Populations Served 

by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families: 

A Literature Review and Theoretical Framework (http://

www.dsgonline.com/ACYF), a literature review and expert 

consultation effort that distilled findings on protective 

factors relevant to the five populations it serves: homeless 

and runaway youth, children exposed to domestic 

violence, victims of child abuse and neglect, youth in 

and aging out of the foster care system, and pregnant 

and parenting youth. As a result of that review, a general 

framework for organizing and applying protective factors 

was developed outlining the evidence for protective 

factors at the individual, relationship, and community 

levels.

The findings presented in this factsheet are based on a 

thorough review of current research linking protective 

factors to well-being for children exposed to domestic 

violence. Focusing on this in-risk population has 

spotlighted specific factors that carry moderate to 

strong association with improved well-being. This review 

also revealed the need to enhance the evidence base 

through further research and practice in order to better 

understand the measures for tracking progress and the 

policy context and strategies that contribute to effective 

interventions. Also highlighted was the importance of 

working at multiple levels to increase individual skills and 

capacities, strengthen relationships, and build capacity 

within the community.1

1 Protective factors demonstrating evidence with general populations may 

also be protective for children exposed to domestic violence. Omission 

of a factor here does not mean it cannot be protective for these children; 

it primarily means that there is currently no strong or moderate evidence 

showing its protective nature for children exposed to domestic violence based 

on this literature review.

Protective Factors 

The following presents the five protective factors 

with the strongest evidence to date for children 

exposed to domestic violence.

Individual Level

Self-regulation skills

Problem-solving skills

Relationship Level

Parenting competencies

Parent or caregiver well-being

Community Level

Positive school environment

Promoting Protective Factors for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Guide for Practitioners https://www.childwelfare.gov

2

Using Protective Factors for Children 

Exposed to Domestic Violence

Which individual skills and capacities can improve the 

well-being of children exposed to domestic violence?

At the individual level, evidence is strongest for the 

protective nature of self-regulation skills and problemsolving skills for children exposed to domestic violence. 

Self-regulation skills: These are defined and measured 

by investigators as emotional awareness, anger 

management, stress management, and cognitive 

coping skills. For children exposed to domestic 

violence, self-regulation skills were related to resiliency; 

having supportive friends; reductions in internalizing 

problems; better cognitive functioning; and decreases in 

posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and 

overall behavior problems. 

Problem-solving skills: Skills such as adaptive 

functioning and the ability to solve problems were 

also found to be important protective factors for many 

children who are exposed to domestic violence and are 

primarily related to improved mental health.
How can parents, guardians, and other adults 

contribute to the well-being of children exposed to 

domestic violence?

For children exposed to domestic violence, there are 

two relationship-level factors with strong or moderate 

evidence of protection, both of which are related to their 

parents.

Parenting competencies: Defined as parental 

acceptance or responsiveness, maternal warmth, strong 

parent-child bonds, and emotional support, there is 

strong evidence linking parenting competencies to 

positive outcomes for children exposed to domestic 

violence. These outcomes include increases in selfesteem, lower risk of antisocial behavior, and a lower 

likelihood of running away and of teen pregnancy. 

Interventions aimed at improving parenting competencies 

have also had a positive impact on children exposed to 

violence. Many of these programs focus on increasing 

family management skills and nurturing abilities, 

meeting children’s developmental and individual needs, 

strengthening family relationships, and improving 

relationships between children and mothers. 

Parent or caregiver well-being: Children whose 

parents demonstrate positive psychological functioning 

(e.g., lower rates of depression and other mental 

health problems) have shown higher levels of resilient 

behavior and better mental health outcomes than other 

young people who are exposed to domestic violence. 

Interventions seeking to increase parental well-being 

are also associated with positive outcomes for children 

exposed to domestic violence. For example, parental 

involvement in Project Support, an instrumental and 

emotional support intervention for mothers who have 

experienced domestic violence, is related to lower rates 

of conduct problems and positive social relationships for 

child participants.

How can we create a community that supports the 

well-being of children exposed to domestic violence?

The community-level protective factor with the strongest 

evidence of protection for children exposed to domestic 

violence is a positive school environment. Evaluations 

of school-based interventions for youth exposed to 

domestic violence have found that these programs can 

help to reduce traumatic stress disorder symptoms, 

depression, psychosocial dysfunction, and physical dating 

violence.

Where to Go From Here? 

Practitioners working with children exposed to domestic 

violence have an important role to play in using protective 

factors to maintain high-quality program strategies and in 

contributing to the evidence base for protective factors in 

this population. Practitioners can do the following:

 At the individual level, assess current strategies and 

practices to promote self-regulation and problemsolving skills for children and youth. Practitioners can 

also ensure that program components contribute to 

the development of these individual-level protective 

factors. Activities may include individual and/or 

group counseling specifically for children exposed 

to domestic violence, as well as general-population 

programs that engage these children and youth in 

strategies to build individual-level protective factors.

 At the relationship level, provide services and 

supports for parents of children exposed to domestic 

violence. Practitioners working with children exposed 

to domestic violence must take the needs of the 

parents (especially mothers) into consideration. While 

there are many programs focused on improving 

parenting competencies and parental well-being, an 

appropriate program will have the capacity to work 

with mothers who are victims of domestic violence and 

incorporate a culturally sensitive approach that focuses 

not only on parenting skills but also on their own 

psychological functioning.

Promoting Protective Factors for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Guide for Practitioners https://www.childwelfare.gov

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This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/guide-domesticviolence/.
 At the community level, connect children exposed 

to domestic violence to cognitive-behavioral 

interventions and violence prevention programs at 

school. For practitioners not currently engaged in 

school-based programs, this may require networking 

and collaboration. 

 Include an evaluation component that will help 

build the evidence base for protective factors 

already showing some research support, as well as 

for those factors that have been useful in a practice 

context but do not yet have evidence of impact. 

Practitioners have a unique opportunity to contribute 

to the understanding of how to effectively promote 

protective factors and measure meaningful changes 

at the practice level. In developing the framework, it 

was clear that other factors may also be protective, 

but the evidence is not yet sufficient. In that sense, the 

framework and supporting evidence can also be seen 

as a guide to future research.

 Engage in advocacy, policy development, and 

community engagement activities to inform 

policymakers about the importance of investing 

in evidence-based protective factors for children 

exposed to domestic violence. 

Conclusion 

No single program or initiative is likely to have the 

resources to address all pertinent factors, and it may 

not always be possible to incorporate protective factors 

at multiple levels. In such cases, the framework should 

be thought of as a guide to where collaboration might 

occur. If a program can work with one or two factors at 

the individual or relational levels, then this framework 

can help in selecting partners for collaboration who can 

address other evidence-based factors relevant to children 

exposed to domestic violence. 

It is vital that practitioners who work with children 

exposed to domestic violence use evidence-based 

strategies whenever possible. It can sometimes be 

difficult to identify programs and strategies that are 

designed specifically for this in-risk population. However, 

by focusing on enhancing the aforementioned protective 

factors, we can help ensure these in-risk youth have a 

better chance to enjoy positive life outcomes. 

Resources

Promoting Protective Factors Factsheets

(Development Services Group, Inc. [DSG], & Child Welfare 

Information Gateway) 

This factsheet is part of a series of factsheets for 

practitioners developed by DGS for ACYF. The series 

explores the importance of protective factors in working 

with the following in-risk populations served by ACYF: 

 Promoting Protective Factors for Children Exposed to 

Domestic Violence

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/

guide-domesticviolence/

 Promoting Protective Factors for Children and Youth in 

Foster Care 

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/

guide-fostercare/

 Promoting Protective Factors for In-Risk Families and 

Youth

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/in-risk/ 

 Promoting Protective Factors for Pregnant and 

Parenting Teens

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/

guide-teen/

 Promoting Protective Factors for Victims of Child Abuse 

and Neglect 

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/

victimscan/

Protective Factors for Populations Served by the 

Administration on Children, Youth, and Families: A 

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework 

(ACYF & DSG) 

ACYF contracted DSG to examine the research and 

develop a literature review on protective factors relevant 

to ACYF’s target populations. Information and resources 

gleaned from this examination helped inform this 

factsheet and aid the development of graphic models 

and a brief for researchers. Access the Protective 

Factors Literature Review, graphic models, and brief for 

researchers on the DSG website. 

http://www.dsgonline.com/ACYF

Promoting Protective Factors for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Guide for Practitioners https://www.childwelfare.gov

4

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/guide-domesticviolence/.
Protective Factors Approaches in Child Welfare 

(Child Welfare Information Gateway) 

This issue brief provides an overview of protective factors 

approaches to the prevention and treatment of child 

abuse and neglect. It is designed to help policymakers, 

administrators, child welfare and related professionals, 

service providers, advocates, and other interested 

individuals understand the concepts of risk and protective 

factors in families and communities and learn ways in 

which building protective factors can help to lessen risks 

for child abuse and neglect. 

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/issue-briefs/

protective-factors/?hasBeenRedirected=1

Prevention Resource Guide 

(HHS’s Children’s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and 

Neglect; Child Welfare Information Gateway; FRIENDS 

National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse 

Prevention; & Center for the Study of Social Policy—

Strengthening Families) 

This guide was created primarily to support communitybased child abuse prevention professionals who work 

to prevent child maltreatment and promote well-being. 

Find information on protective factors approaches 

to promoting well-being, working with families using 

protective factors, engaging communities, and protecting 

children. The guide also includes tip sheets for parents 

and caregivers and activity calendars—in both Spanish 

and English. Access the guide through the National Child 

Abuse Prevention Month website. 

https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/

preventionmonth/resource-guide/

This factsheet was written by Development 

Services Group, Inc., for the Administration on 

Children, Youth and Families. 

Promoting Protective Factors for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Guide for Practitioners https://www.childwelfare.gov

Suggested citation: 

Development Services Group, Inc., & Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. (2015). Promoting protective factors 

for children exposed to domestic violence: A guide for 

practitioners. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth 

and Families, Children’s Bureau.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Administration for Children and Families 

Administration on Children, Youth and Families 

Children’s Bureau