Analyse The Effects Of Exposure To Domestic Violence On Development

When reviewing the effects on children who are living in a violent home, the most vulnerable are infants.

It is estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of children in the United States are exposed to domestic violence annually (Carrell & Hoekstra, 2010). What are the thoughts and feelings of children who are exposed to violence within the home? Children who are exposed to domestic violence can become fearful and anxious. They tend to be on guard, watching and waiting for the next event to occur, a sense of hypervigilance. What are the outcomes of these children as they get older? Does the cycle of abuse continue as adults? The answers to these questions will be further discussed in this paper.

Next to be discussed are the emotional problems that domestic violence can create. Many juveniles will blame themselves for what is happening in their home. They believe that if they somehow could just act a little better or be a little more helpful, everything will get better. They feel guilty that they can’t protect the battered parent. They are very disturbed by the conflict of love and hate that they feel toward the parent that is battering. They deal with constant sadness and feelings that they are unworthy. These children are very cautious and worried because they don’t know when the next act of violence will occur. Exposed children may become nervous, and fidgety. Sensitiveness to

Children are impacted the most in a household where domestic violence occurs. Fifty-four percent of families reported that domestic violence occurred in the child’s home (Bowen, 2000). That is over half of all children who experience some sort of physical or psychological abuse at some point in their lifetime. Children exposed to violence exhibit many more problems than children who do not witness violence at home, including anxiety; aggression; depression and temperament problems; less empathy and self-esteem; and lower verbal, cognitive, and motor abilities. Furthermore, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that “children who witness domestic violence are likely to become sufferers of posttraumatic stress disorder” (Lundy, Grossman, 2005). They lack the confidence in themselves, because they are constantly told they are bad. Behavioral problems, particularly externalizing behavior, in children who witness marital violence and who are victims of abuse have been found to be worse than in children who are exposed to just one type of violence (Cox, Kotch, & Everson, 2003). Some children act up just so they can get attention from peers and elders. This is because the child does not receive the appropriate attention at home, possibly from being neglected by their parents.

Violence affects a healthy family’s relationship, state of mind and well-being, in other words, it’s normal functions. Because of violence, children are forced to endure and cope with mental, physical and emotional trauma leading to a display of impacts on health, development, and wellbeing. The effects build up over time and can impact on every aspect of their life.  How many children and innocent lives must suffer from something unnecessary? Imagine walking into a home late at night to find a child hiding in a corner, with a bloody face and cuts all around their body saying they were self-inflicted or making up other silly excuses like falling down the stairs out of extreme fear. Up to 75% of all acts of domestic violence occurs between the ages 18-24. No child should ever see domestic violence as normal because the moment that happens a future perpetrator has been born. We need to take a stand and refuse to let domestic violence become something we ignore.

The phrase “domestic violence” typically refers to violence between adult partners. Sadly, it has been estimated that every year between 3.3 and ten million children are exposed to domestic violence in the confines of their own home (Moylan, Herrenkohl, Sousa et al. 2009). According to research conducted by John W. Fantuzzo and Wanda K. Mohr (1999): “Exposure to domestic violence can include watching or hearing the violent events, direct involvement (for example, trying to intervene or calling the police), or experiencing the aftermath (for example, seeing bruises or observing maternal depression)” (Fantuzzo & Mohr, 22). The effects of exposure can lead to behavioral and developmental issues at a young age or interpersonal relationships

When faced with domestic violence these children sometimes carry on violence when they become adults or blame themselves. This article explores theories and situations that show the long term and short term effects of domestic violence. They identified 41 studies that provided relevant and adequate data for inclusion in a meta-analysis. Forty of these studies indicated that children 's exposure to domestic violence was related to emotional and behavioral problems, translating to a small overall effect (Wolfe, Crooks, Lee, McIntyre-Smith, & Jaffe, 2003).

“There are more than three million children that are a witness to domestic violence in their own homes every year (Prinz 2003)”. When a child lives in a home when they are exposed to domestic violence they suffer also. They are at risk for abuse and neglect at thirty to sixty percent. “When children are exposed to domestic violence, they are more at risk for health problems, including becoming sick more often, having frequent headaches and stomachaches, and being more tired and lethargic than normal children (Prinz 2003)”. Children will try to intervene when they witness their parent being abused. This can put the child at great risk for injury and even cause death. In the United States there are between ten and twenty percent of children that are exposed to domestic violence.

Childhood problems associated with exposure to domestic violence fall into three categories. First we have behavioral, social, and emotional problems in which higher levels of aggression appears such as anger, disobedience, fear, low self- esteem, and poor social relationships began. Sometimes children become aggressive or abusive towards their own family members. Often times women experience domestic violence from their sons while others may be abused by their partner and their children at the same time. Males usually copy their fathers behavior or they may be afraid they will turn out like them. Although this may be a temporary behavior which is disturbing women must do something to protect themselves as well as their other children

Children are exposed to domestic violence in many ways. They may hear parents threating each other, out of control reckless anger, or even se one parent assault the other one. Many children are affected by hearing threats to the safety of one parent whether it results in physical injury or not. Children who live in or around domestic violence are also at increased risk to become direct victims of child abuse. Domestic violence poses a serious threat to children’s psychological, emotional, and physical well being, especially if the violence is chronic.

This article provides a good introduction for practitioners working with children who witness family violence. The article summarizes the effects domestic violence can have on children such as; aggressiveness, depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, and sleep deprivation. The author stresses the importance of proper identification and assessment of children exposed to domestic violence. There are four goals of intervention described in this article: reducing the child’s sense of isolation, helping children to understand their

Domestic violence stories are stories that are shared way too often by women all over, but when a child is exposed to these acts, their social, emotional, and behavioral growth can be greatly impacted.

Exposure to domestic violence can impact the behavioral, social-emotional, and cognitive development of children. Children who are exposed to domestic violence tend to exhibit more aggressive behaviors with their peers, show signs of depression, and have a difficult time forming relationships (Brown & Bzostek, 2003). Cognitively, studies have shown that children exposed to domestic violence may have difficulties learning and concentrating in school, have difficulties with conflict resolution skills, and may believe in male privilege, (Brown & Bzostek, 2003). Concentration is difficult for children exposed to domestic violence because of how unsafe they may feel in their surroundings. They may be preoccupied with the violence that is

Predominantly domestic violence occurs among adults. For those who have children they are affected by the violence too. When child witnesses or is a part of domestic violence the effects can vary. Research reveals that some of the symptoms these children may display include aggressive behavior, reduced social competencies, depression, fears, anxiety, sleep disturbances and learning problems. Underlying many of those problems are the children’s emotional responses to the violence, such as intense terror, fear of death, and fear of loss of a parent. In addition, children may harbor rage, feelings of guilt, and a sense of responsibility for the violence. Children who witness traumatic events, such as incidents of domestic violence, may feel helpless

Through this article, we learn that infants who experience domestic violence have trouble sleeping and eating, while older children develop a change in behavior and anxiety (McFarlane et al. 2003; Hornor, 2005). Boys who experience violence in the home tend to be more aggressive and disobedient. While on the other hand, girls who experience violence in the home tend to be more introverted and depressed. Nonetheless, both genders are impacted negatively by domestic violence.