Includes bibliographical references (p. 214-229) and index.

The Battering Problem -- Defining Batterers -- Characteristics of Batterers -- Misconceptions About Batterers -- Power Parenting: The Batterer's Style With Children -- Typical Characteristics of Batterers as Parents -- Effects on Children of Exposure to Domestic Violence -- Child Abuse -- The Batterer as Role Model -- Children's Outlook on the Batterer -- Shock Waves: The Batterer's Impact on the Home -- Undermining of the Mother's Authority -- Effects on Mother-Child Relationships -- Use of Children as Weapons Against the Mother -- The Batterer's Impact on Other Aspects of Family Functioning -- Resilience in Mother-Child and in Sibling Relationships -- The Batterer as Incest Perpetrator / Lundy Bancroft, Margaret Miller -- Review of Studies -- The Predatory Child Molester Versus the Incest Perpetrator -- Shared Tactics of Batterers and Incest Perpetrators -- Shared Attitudes of Batterers and Incest Perpetrators -- Implications of the Overlap for Professional Response -- Sexual Abuse Allegations in Custody and Visitation Disputes -- Impeding Recovery: The Batterer in Custody and Visitation Disputes -- Creating a Context for Children's Healing -- Batterers' Postseparation Conduct With Children -- Batterers' Motivations for Seeking Custody or Increased Visitation -- Batterers' Advantages in Custody Disputes -- Batterers' Tactics in Custody and Visitation Disputes -- Effects on Children of Custody Litigation -- The Mismeasure of Batterers as Parents: A Critique of Prevailing Theories of Assessment -- Influential Theories of Divorce -- The Use of a Domestic Violence Typology to Assess Risk to Children -- The Overlooked Implications of Johnston, Campbell, and Roseby's Own Observations -- Supporting Recovery: Assessing Risk to Children From Batterers and Structuring Visitation -- Sources of Risk to Children From Unsupervised Contact With Batterers -- A Guide to Assessing Risk to Children From Batterers -- Structuring Custody and Visitation -- Is It Real? Assessing and Fostering Change in Batterers as Parents -- Steps to Change in Batterers -- Misconceptions Regarding Change in Batterers -- Evaluating Change in Batterers as Parents -- Creating a Context for Change -- Improving Community Responses to the Parenting of Batterers -- Child Therapists, Family Therapists, and Programs for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence -- Custody Evaluators -- Family Courts -- Agencies and Courts With Child Protective Jurisdiction -- Parent Trainers -- Psychological Evaluators -- Batterer Programs -- Battered Women's Programs -- Supervised Visitation Centers -- Family Lawyers and Bar Associations.

The Batterer as Parent takes the reader inside of homes affected by domestic violence, imparting an understanding of the atmosphere that battering men create for the children who live with them. Bancroft and Silverman show how partner abuse affects each relationship in a family, and explains how children's emotional recovery is inextricably linked to the healing and empowerment of their mothers. The authors cover the important but often-overlooked area of the post-separation parenting behaviors of men who batter, including their use of custody litigation as a tool of abuse. Readers also are guided in evaluating change in the parenting of men who batter, assessing risk to children from unsupervised visitation, and supporting the emotional recovery of children. Although the book is written primarily for professionals, its accessible style makes it engaging and useful for abused mothers and anyone else wishing to assist children exposed to battering.