Abstract
Children exposed to domestic violence are at-risk for physical, mental, and social difficulties that have received an increased focus among researchers and policy makers. Using Snyder’s (2000) theory of Hope as a conceptual framework, Camp HOPE America is a summer camp program targeting school-aged children exposed to domestic violence. The purpose of this study is to present the changes in child hope before and after camp and correlate child hope to positive character strengths as rated by camp counselors. This study used a matched pretest posttest design to examine the change in hope, and strength of character among 229 school-aged children participating in Camp HOPE America. Results showed that hope, and psychological strengths improved from pre-test to post-test assessments. Additionally, children’s scores on hope were positively associated with the character strengths of zest, grit, self-control, optimism, gratitude, social intelligence, and curiosity obtained from counselor observations. These findings highlight hope as a coping resource for children exposed to domestic violence and provides preliminary support Camp HOPE America as an intervention within the established Family Justice Center system in the US.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benavides, L. E. (2015). Protective factors in children and adolescents exposed to intimate partner violence: An empirical research review. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 32, 93–107.
Bryant, F. B., & Harrison, P. R. (2015). Measures of hope and optimism: Assessing positive expectations of the future. In G. J. Boyle, D. H. Saklofske, & G. Matthews (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological constructs (pp. 47–73). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Carlson, B. (1990). Adolescent observers of marital violence. Journal of Family Violence, 5, 285–299.
Chang, E. C. (1998). Hope, problem-solving ability, and coping in a college student population: Some implications for theory and practice. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54(7), 953–962.
Chang, E. C., & DeSimone, S. L. (2001). The influence of hope on appraisals, coping, and dysphoria: A test of thope theory. Journal of Clinical and Social Psychology, 20, 117–129.
Ciarrochi, J., Heaven, P. C. L., & Davies, F. (2007). The impact of hope, self-esteem, and attributional style on adolescents' school grades and emotional well-being: A longitudinal study. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 1161–1178.
Ciarrochi, J., Parker, P., Kashdan, T. B., Heaven, P. C. L., & Barkus, E. (2015). Hope and emotional well-being: A six-year study to distinguish antecedents, correlates, and consequences. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10, 520–532.
Collins, S. (2015). Hope and helping in social work. Practice: Social Work in Action, 27, 197–213.
Evans, S. E., Cavies, C., & DiLillo, D. (2008). Exposure to domestic violence: A meta-analysis of child and adolescent outcomes. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 13, 131–140.
Fantuzzo, J. W., & Mohr, W. K. (1999). Prevalence and effects of child exposure to domestic violence. Future of Children, Special Issue: Domestic Violence and Children, 9, 21–32.
Felitti, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2010). The relationship of adverse childhood experiences to adult medical disease, psychiatric disorders and sexual behaviors: Implications for healthcare. In R. A. Lanius, E. Vermetten, & C. Pain (Eds.), The impact of early life trauma on health and disease: The hidden epidemic (pp. 77–87). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R. K., & Turner, H. A. (2007). Poly-victimization and trauma in a national longitudinal cohort. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 149–166.
Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R., Turner, H., & Holt, M. (2009). Pathways to poly-victimization. Child Maltreatment, 14, 316–329.
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Hamby, S., & Ormrod, R. (2011). Polyvictimizatin: Children’s exposure to multiple types of violence, crime, and abuse. Juvenile Justice Bulletin (October, 2011). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice.
Ford, D. C., Merrick, M. T., Parks, S. E., Breiding, M. J., Gilbert, L. K., Edwards, V. J., … Barile, J. P. (2014). Examination of the factorial structure of adverse childhood experiences and recommendations for three subscale scores. Psychology of Violence, 4, 432–444.
Friere, P. (1996). Pedagogy of hope: Reliving pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
Gwinn, C. (2015). Cheering for the children: Creating pathways to hope for children exposed to trauma. Tuscon, AZ: Wheatmark Press.
Hamby, S., Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., & Ormrod, R. (2011). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence and other family violence. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Bulletin (NCJ232272). Washington, D.C.: US Department of Justice.
Hellman, C. M., Pittman, M. K., & Munoz, R. T. (2013). The first twenty years of the will and the ways: An examination of score reliability distribution on Snyder’s dispositional hope scale. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14, 723–729.
Horton, T. V., & Wallander, J. L. (2001). Hope and social support as resilience factors against psychological distress of mothers who care for children with chronic physical conditions. Rehabilitation Psychology, 46, 382–399.
Kizmann, K. M., Gaylord, N. K., Holt, A. R., & Kenny, E. D. (2003). Child witnesses to domestic violence: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 7, 339–352.
Kwok, S. Y. C. L., Gu, M., & Kit, K. T. K. (2016). Positive psychology intervention to alleviate child depression and increase life satisfaction: A randomized clinical trial. Research on Social Work Practice, 26, 350–361.
Kwon, P. (2000). Hope and dysphoria: The moderating role of defense mechanisms. Journal of Personality, 68, 199–223.
Lichter, E. L., & McCloskey, L. A. (2004). The effects of childhood exposure to marital violence on adolescent gender-role beliefs. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28, 344–357.
Litrownik, A. J., Newton, R., & Hunter, W. M. (2003). Exposure to family violence in young at-risk children: A longitudinal look at the effects of victimization and witnessed physical and psychological aggression. Journal of Family Violence, 18, Special issue: LONGSCAN and family violence, 59–73.
Marques, S. C., Lopez, S. J., & Pais-Ribeiro, J. L. (2011). “Building hope for the future”: A program to foster strengths in middle-school students. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12, 139–152.
McCarter, A. K. (2007). The impact of hopelessness and hope on the social work profession. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 15, 107–124.
Ong, A. D., Edwards, L. M., & Bergeman, C. S. (2006). Hope as a source of resilience in later adulthood. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 1263–1273.
Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2009). Character strengths: Research and practice. Journal of College & Character, 10, 1–9.
Pedrotti, J. T., Edwards, L., & Lopez, S. J. (2008). Promoting hope: Suggestions for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 12, 100–107.
Rapp, C. A., Saleebey, D., & Sullivan, W. P. (2005). The future of strengths-based social work. Advances in Social Work, 6, 79–90.
Reavis, J. A., Looman, K. A., Franco, A., & Rojas, B. (2013). Adverse childhood experiences and adult criminality: How long must we live before we process our own lives? The Permanente Journal, 17, 44–48.
Saleebey, D. (1996). The strengths perspective in social work practice: Extensions and cautions. Social Work, 41, 296–305.
Saleebey, D. (2000). Power in the people: Strengths and hope. Advances in Social Work, 1, 127–136.
Smaldino, A. (1975). The importance of hope in the casework relationship. Social Casework, 56, 328–333.
Snyder, C. R. (1995). Conceptualizing, measuring, and nurturing hope. Journal of Counseling & Development, 73, 355–360.
Snyder, C. R. (2000). The past and possible futures of hope. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(1), 11–28.
Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows of the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 249–275.
Snyder, C. R. (2005). Measuring hope in children. In K. A. Moore & L. H. Lippman (Eds.), What do children need to flourish: Conceptualizing and measuring indicators of positive development. New York: Springer.
Snyder, C. R., Hoza, B., Pelham, W. E., Rapoff, M., Ware, L., Danovsky, M., … Stahl, K. J. (1997). The development and validation of the children’s Hope Scale. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 22, 399–421.
Sullivan, W. P., & Floyd, D. F. (2013). Animating hope: An essential ingredient of strengths-based practice. In D. Saleeby (Ed.), The strengths perspective in social work perspective (6th ed., pp. 221–234). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Summers, A. (2006). Children’s exposure to domestic violence: A guide to research and resources. Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Valle, M. F., Huebner, E. S., & Suldo, S. M. (2004). Further validation of the Children’s Hope Scale. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 22, 320–337.
Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C. V., Lee, V., & McIntyre-Smith, A. (2003). The effects of children’s exposure to domestic violence: A meta-analysis and critique. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6, 171–187.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Chan M. Hellman declares no conflict of interest. Casey Gwinn is President of Alliance for HOPE International.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the university and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained for all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
The research contained in this article was supported in part by a grant from Verizon to Alliance for Hope International for Camp HOPE America.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hellman, C.M., Gwinn, C. Camp HOPE as an Intervention for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Program Evaluation of Hope, and Strength of Character. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 34, 269–276 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-016-0460-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-016-0460-6