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PSY 742: Family Violence and Disputes

Fall 2025 Instruction Session for PSY 742: Family Violence and Disputes

Developing Keywords and Search Strategies

To find relevant materials on your topic, begin with a few key terms and then expand or narrow your search as needed. Using Boolean operators like AND, OR, and phrase searching ("") will help you combine concepts and get more precise results.

General Keywords for All Topics:

  • "domestic abuse" OR "intimate partner violence" OR "family violence": These are foundational terms, but remember that "intimate partner violence" and "coercive control" are often preferred in contemporary scholarly literature to capture the full spectrum of non-physical harm.

  • "coercive control": This is a critical concept for this course, as it moves beyond single incidents of physical violence to describe the a larger pattern of behaviors used to exert power.

  • "child custody" OR "family court": These terms are crucial for finding information on the legal processes and outcomes related to the topics you are researching.

  • "criminal justice system" OR "law enforcement": These keywords will help you locate research on the legal response to domestic abuse outside of the family court context, including police investigations, prosecution, and sentencing.

  • "peer reviewed" AND "literature review": For a graduate-level paper, it's essential to use peer-reviewed scholarly sources. The term "literature review" can be added to your search to find articles that summarize and critique existing research on a topic, providing you with an excellent overview and a list of key references.

Specific Keywords by Topic

1. Sibling Abuse:

  • Abuse: "sibling abuse," "sibling violence"

  • Context: "family dynamics," "interpersonal relationships"

  • Impact: "psychological effects," "long-term consequences"

Sample Search String: "sibling abuse" AND ("psychological effects" OR "long-term consequences"), researching with CUNY OneSearch. 

Sample Search String: "sibling abuse" AND ("psychological effects" OR "long-term consequences"), researching with Social Services Abstracts.

2.  LGBTQ+ Families, Domestic Abuse, and Law:

  • LGBTQ+ families: "LGBTQ families," "same-sex parents," "gay and lesbian parents," "transgender individuals"

  • Domestic abuse: "intimate partner violence," "coercive control," "emotional abuse," "isolation," "economic abuse"

  • Law enforcement/courts: "police response," "criminal cases," "family court," "legal remedies," "heterosexism," "homophobia," "biphobia," "transphobia"

Sample Search String: ("coercive control" OR "intimate partner violence") AND ("LGBTQ families" OR "same-sex relationships") AND ("criminal court" OR "legal system") researching with APA PsycINFO.

3.  Impact of Domestic Abuse on Children:

  • Impact on children: "child development," "child attachment," "trauma," "adverse childhood experiences"

  • Court context: "custody litigation," "family court proceedings," "witness testimony," "using children"

  • Consequences: "psychological well-being," "behavioral problems"

Sample Search String: ("domestic violence" OR "intimate partner violence") AND child* AND ("attachment" OR "development" OR "trauma")  researching with Criminal Justice Database.

4. Immigration and Trafficking:

  • Trafficking: "human trafficking," "sex trafficking," "labor trafficking," "undocumented immigrants," "immigrant women"

  • Vulnerabilities: "immigrant children," "undocumented immigrants," "undocumented women"

  • Control: "threatening to report to INS," "hiding documents," "not allowing to learn English," "immigrant power and control"

  • Court/Law: "immigration courts," "legal protections"

Sample Search String: "human trafficking" AND ("immigrant children" OR "vulnerable populations") AND ("threatening to report" OR "destroying documents") researching with ProQuest databases.

Sample Search String: "human trafficking" AND ("immigrant children" OR "vulnerable populations") OR ("threatening to report" OR "destroying documents") researching with Academic Search Complete.

5. Fathering and Domestic Abuse:

  • Parenting: "fathering," "parenting styles," "coercive control"

  • Risk factors: "child maltreatment," "risk assessment"

  • Legal context: "custody litigation," "gender trends," "male perpetrators," "male privilege"

Sample Search String: father* AND "domestic abuse" AND ("parenting styles" OR "coercive control") researching with ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Collection.

6. Assessing Lethality and Post-Separation Risks:

  • Lethality: "lethality assessment," "danger assessment," "risk factors"

  • Post-separation risks: "stalking," "homicide," "post-separation violence"

  • Legal context: "family court litigation," "restraining orders"

Sample Search String: "lethality assessment" AND ("post-separation" OR "family court") researching with Sage Journals.

Sample Search String: "lethality assessment" AND ("post-separation" OR "family court") researching with Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic)..

7. Criminal Court Response to Domestic Abuse:

  • Court response: "criminal court," "sentencing," "prosecution"

  • Efficacy: "efficacy of intervention," "effectiveness," "recidivism"

  • Defendants: "female defendants," "battered women's syndrome"

Sample Search String: "criminal court" AND "domestic violence" AND ("sentencing" OR "efficacy") researching with Hein Online.

Sample Search String: "criminal court" AND "domestic violence" AND ("sentencing" OR "efficacy") researching with Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic):

Sample Search String: "criminal court" AND "domestic violence" AND ("sentencing" OR "efficacy") researching with CUNY One Search.