{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T13:07:32Z","timestamp":1789132052546,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788825600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788825600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Interpers Violence"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) experience significant psychological consequences; however, the current literature is largely grounded in Western, individualist trauma frameworks. These perspectives often overlook how children interpret and negotiate violence in collectivist cultural contexts shaped by loyalty, honor, and silence. In Arab society in Israel, such cultural dynamics may profoundly shape children\u2019s lived experiences; however, their subjective perspectives remain insufficiently explored. This study explored the lived experiences of children exposed to IPV in Arab society in Israel, aiming to understand how they interpret and navigate violence in culturally embedded relational systems. Adopting a phenomenological and family systems lens, the study centered children\u2019s subjective voices and moral positioning. The study was based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 children aged 8 to 11 (comprising 8 Muslim, 4 Christian, and 3 Druze participants), recruited through social services. Data were analyzed using an interpretive approach to capture children\u2019s meanings, experiences, and relational contexts. The findings reveal a multilayered experiential framework organized into four interrelated fields: the relational field, experiential field of ongoing threat, role field, and future-oriented field. Participants experienced violence not as discrete events but as a continuous condition shaping their sense of time, embodiment, and social engagement. Children emerged as active agents navigating complex moral tensions, striving to preserve family cohesion while managing fear and culturally reinforced expectations of silence. A notable finding is therapeutic parentification, whereby children assumed burdened roles to emotionally protect their mothers, de-escalate parental conflicts, and hold the family together. This study conceptualized children as morally situated agents in culturally embedded relational systems and underscores the need for culturally responsive interventions addressing both safety and the moral and emotional burdens these children carry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/08862605261480151","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T10:38:38Z","timestamp":1788863918000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["\u201cI\u2019m Present but Absent\u201d: A Phenomenological Study of Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence in Arab Society in Israel"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5480-3939","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wafaa","family":"Sowan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, School of Social Work, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Romain","family":"Jammal-Abboud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Social Work, Zefat Academic College, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Abu-Raya H. Jammal-Abboud M. Berger R. (2025). Cultural values and family dynamics in Arab societies: A multi-country study of modernization and collectivism. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. Advance online publication. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00220221251406557","DOI":"10.1177\/00220221251406557"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_1","volume-title":"The psychosocial impact of polygamy in the Middle East","author":"Al-Krenawi A.","year":"2016","unstructured":"Al-Krenawi A. (2016). The psychosocial impact of polygamy in the Middle East. Springer."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0886260517731789"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Berger F. Jammal-Abboud R. (2025). The long-term impact of family experiences in adolescence on mother\u2013child relationships in early adulthood. Journal of Family Issues 46(7) 1132\u20131155.\u200f https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0192513X251330609","DOI":"10.1177\/0192513X251330609"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_1","volume-title":"Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy","author":"Boszormenyi-Nagy I.","year":"1973","unstructured":"Boszormenyi-Nagy I., Spark G. M. (1973). Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy. Harper & Row."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Callaghan J. M. Alexander J. H. Sixsmith J. Fellin L. C. (2018). Beyond \u2018witnessing\u2019: Children\u2019s experiences of coercive control in domestic violence. Children & Society 32(1) 21\u201333. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0886260515618946","DOI":"10.1177\/0886260515618946"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cox M. J. Paley B. (1997). Families as systems. Annual Review of Psychology 48(1) 243\u2013267. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1146\/annurev.psych.48.1.243","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.48.1.243"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Daoud N. Sergienko R. Shoham-Vardi I. (2017). Intimate partner violence prevalence recurrence types and risk factors among Arab and Jewish immigrant and nonimmigrant women of childbearing age in Israel. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(13\u201314) 2869\u20132896. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0886260517705665","DOI":"10.1177\/0886260517705665"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Desmarais S. L. Kim T. K. Becker-Blease K. A. Nielsen E. P. Douglas K. S. (2012). The prevalence of physical violence in intimate relationships Part 1: Rates of male and female victimization. Partner Abuse 3(2) 140\u2013169. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1891\/1946-6560.3.2.140","DOI":"10.1891\/1946-6560.3.2.140"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Earley L. Cushway D. (2002). The parentified child. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 7(2) 163\u2013178. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1359104502007002005","DOI":"10.1177\/1359104502007002005"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_12_1","volume-title":"Secrecy, honor, and disclosure: Navigating the legal and social consequences of IPV in immigrant and collectivist communities","author":"Erez E.","year":"2022","unstructured":"Erez E., Ibarra P. R., Lurie S. (2022). Secrecy, honor, and disclosure: Navigating the legal and social consequences of IPV in immigrant and collectivist communities. Violence Against Women."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fantuzzo J. W. Fusco R. A. (2007). Children\u2019s direct exposure to types of domestic violence crime: A citywide investigation. Journal of Family Violence 22(7) 543\u2013552. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10896-007-9105-z","DOI":"10.1007\/s10896-007-9105-z"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_14_1","volume-title":"Betrayal trauma: The logic of forgetting childhood abuse","author":"Freyd J. J.","year":"1996","unstructured":"Freyd J. J. (1996). Betrayal trauma: The logic of forgetting childhood abuse. Harvard University Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_15_1","volume-title":"Changes and transformation: Socio-economic report on the Arab-Palestinian community in Israel","author":"Galilee Society","year":"2018","unstructured":"Galilee Society. (2018). Changes and transformation: Socio-economic report on the Arab-Palestinian community in Israel. The Galilee Society."},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_3_4_16_1","first-page":"139","article-title":"The incidence of wife abuse and battering and some of its determinants among Arab women","volume":"15","author":"Haj-Yahia M. M.","year":"2000","unstructured":"Haj-Yahia M. M. (2000). The incidence of wife abuse and battering and some of its determinants among Arab women. Journal of Family Violence, 15(2), 139\u2013162.","journal-title":"Journal of Family Violence"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_3_4_17_1","first-page":"689","article-title":"Wife abuse and battering in the sociocultural context of Arab society","volume":"41","author":"Haj-Yahia M. M.","year":"2002","unstructured":"Haj-Yahia M. M. (2002). Wife abuse and battering in the sociocultural context of Arab society. Family Process, 41(4), 689\u2013705.","journal-title":"Family Process"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Haj-Yahia M. M. (2011). Palestinian women\u2019s exposure to family violence: Social cultural and political context. Feminism & Psychology 21(4) 533\u2013552. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0959353511422934","DOI":"10.1177\/1077801298004005002"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Holden G. W. (2003). Children exposed to domestic violence and child abuse: Terminology and taxonomy. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 6(3) 151\u2013160. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1023\/a:1024906315255","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1024906315255"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jammal-Abboud R. (2022). Cultural value conflicts of Arab social work students in Israel: A critical multicultural approach. Social Work Education 41(8) 1735\u20131747. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02615479.2021.1928625","DOI":"10.1080\/02615479.2021.1928625"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jammal-Abboud R. (2024). Conflicting experiences and identity development of Arab novice social workers in the stage of entering social welfare offices in Israel. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work 33(6) 374\u2013387. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/15313204.2023.2219464","DOI":"10.1080\/15313204.2023.2219464"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jurkovic G. J. (1997). Lost childhoods: The plight of the parentified child. Brunner\/Mazel. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4324\/9781315825762","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315825762"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Katz E. (2016). Beyond the physical incident model: How children living with domestic violence are harmed by and resist regimes of coercive control. Child Abuse Review 25(1) 46\u201359. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/car.2422","DOI":"10.1002\/car.2422"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kirmayer L. J. Ryder A. G. (2016). Culture and psychopathology. Current Opinion in Psychology 8 143\u2013148. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.copsyc.2015.10.020","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2015.10.020"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li S. Zhao F. Yu G. (2019). Childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence victimization: A meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect 88 212\u2013224. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.chiabu.2018.11.014","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2018.11.012"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_26_1","volume-title":"Psychotherapy with infants and young children: Repairing the effects of stress and trauma on early attachment","author":"Lieberman A. F.","year":"2008","unstructured":"Lieberman A. F., Van Horn P. (2008). Psychotherapy with infants and young children: Repairing the effects of stress and trauma on early attachment. The Guilford Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0147-1767(85)90062-8"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mahajne I. Allassad Alhuzail N. Bar-On A. (2022). Challenges facing social work in the indigenous Arab minority in Israel: Voices from the field. The British Journal of Social Work 52(2) 816\u2013832. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/bjsw\/bcab069","DOI":"10.1093\/bjsw\/bcab069"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_29_1","first-page":"121","volume-title":"Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention","author":"Main M.","year":"1990","unstructured":"Main M., Solomon J. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized\/disoriented during the Ainsworth Strange Situation. In Greenberg M. T., Cicchetti D., Cummings E. M. (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 121\u2013160). University of Chicago Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Malik A. N. Hassan S. (2025). The SHARE model of trauma recovery: Addressing silence honor attachment relational trauma and embodied memory in collectivist cultures. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 31(5) Article e70200. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/jep.70200","DOI":"10.1111\/jep.70200"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Markus H. Nurius P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist 41(9) 954\u2013969. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/0003-066X.41.9.954","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.41.9.954"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_32_1","volume-title":"Qualitative researching","author":"Mason J.","year":"1996","unstructured":"Mason J. (1996). Qualitative researching. Sage Publications."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Massarwi A. A. Khoury-Kassabri M. (2017). Serious physical violence among Arab-Palestinian adolescents: The role of exposure to neighborhood violence perceived ethnic discrimination normative beliefs and parental communication. Child Abuse & Neglect 63 233\u2013244. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.chiabu.2016.11.002","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2016.11.002"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mchunu T. B. Khuzwayo N. (2025). Experience of gender-based violence among high school-going youth in Estcourt KwaZulu-Natal. Health SA Gesondheid 30 Article 2935. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/hsag.v30i0.2935","DOI":"10.4102\/hsag.v30i0.2935"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/09540261.2016.1205001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4159\/9780674041127"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_37_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ne\u2019eman-Haviv V. Shafran Y. (2023). Differences in help-seeking tendency in intimate partner violence between Jewish and Arab women in Israel. Frontiers in Sociology 8 Article 1229924. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fsoc.2023.1229924","DOI":"10.3389\/fsoc.2023.1229924"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_3_4_38_1","first-page":"432","article-title":"The \u2018invisible\u2019 children\u2019s agency: Children\u2019s coping strategies when exposed to domestic violence","volume":"19","author":"\u00d8verlien C.","year":"2014","unstructured":"\u00d8verlien C. (2014). The \u2018invisible\u2019 children\u2019s agency: Children\u2019s coping strategies when exposed to domestic violence. Child & Family Social Work, 19(4), 432\u2013440.","journal-title":"Child & Family Social Work"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_39_1","volume-title":"Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice","author":"Patton M. Q.","year":"2014","unstructured":"Patton M. Q. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice. Sage Publications."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_40_1","volume-title":"The future orientation of adolescent girls exposed to domestic violence","author":"Peled E.","year":"2018","unstructured":"Peled E. (2018). The future orientation of adolescent girls exposed to domestic violence. Child & Family Social Work."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Perkins S. Graham-Bermann S. (2012). Violence exposure and the development of school-related functioning: Mental health neurocognition and learning. Aggression and Violent Behavior 17(1) 89\u201398. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.avb.2011.10.001","DOI":"10.1016\/j.avb.2011.10.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_42_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ragavan M. I. Garcia R. Berger R. P. Miller E. (2020). Supporting intimate partner violence survivors and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrics 146(3) Article e20201276. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1542\/peds.2020-1276","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2020-1276"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_43_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-387-85764-0_7"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_44_1","unstructured":"Shonkoff J. P. (2021). Capitalizing on advances in science to reduce the health consequences of early childhood adversity. JAMA Pediatrics 175(11) 1165\u20131173. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1001\/jamapediatrics.2021.2368"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_45_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Slepian M. L. Chun J. S. Mason M. F. (2017). The experience of secrecy and the cognitive tax of concealment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 113(1) 1\u201333. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/pspa0000085","DOI":"10.1037\/pspa0000085"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_46_1","volume-title":"Introduction to phenomenology","author":"Sokolowski R.","year":"2000","unstructured":"Sokolowski R. (2000). Introduction to phenomenology. Cambridge University Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_47_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sowan-Basheer W. Winstok Z. (2016). The controversy concerning the validity of the asymmetry thesis for physical partner violence: A pilot study. Journal of Family Violence 31 1039\u20131042. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10896-016-9893-0","DOI":"10.1007\/s10896-016-9893-0"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_48_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sowan-Basheer W. Winstok Z. (2020a). Partner violence beliefs attitudes and implications in Israeli Muslim Society. Partner Abuse 11 179\u2013195. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1891\/PA-D-19-00061","DOI":"10.1891\/PA-D-19-00061"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_49_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sowan-Basheer W. Winstok Z. (2020b). Gender differences in the motivations for using sanctions in intimate relationships conflicts among Muslims and Jewish couples. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 37(5\u20136) 2581\u20132597. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0886260520935493","DOI":"10.1177\/0886260520935493"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_50_1","volume-title":"Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy","author":"van Manen M","year":"1990","unstructured":"van Manen M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. State University of New York Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_51_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vass A. Haj-Yahia M. M. (2020). \u201cWhich home are we going back to?\u201d Children\u2019s lived experiences after leaving shelters for battered women. Children and Youth Services Review 108 Article 104670.\u200f https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.childyouth.2019.104670","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2019.104670"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_52_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vass A. Haj-Yahia M. M. (2021). \u201cPay attention to me\u201d: Children\u2019s subjective perceptions of the process of leaving home with their mothers to shelters for battered women. Violence Against Women 27(3\u20134) 295\u2013319. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1077801219890421","DOI":"10.1177\/1077801219890421"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_53_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-031-95477-1_11"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_54_1","volume-title":"Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2021","unstructured":"World Health Organization. (2021). Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018. WHO Press."}],"container-title":["Journal of Interpersonal Violence"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/08862605261480151","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/08862605261480151","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/08862605261480151","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T12:17:09Z","timestamp":1789129029000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/08862605261480151"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"references-count":53,"alternative-id":["10.1177\/08862605261480151"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/08862605261480151","relation":{},"ISSN":["0886-2605","1552-6518"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0886-2605","type":"print"},{"value":"1552-6518","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"article-number":"08862605261480151"}}