Domestic Violence And The Parent's Relationship

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.

Many children are victims of violence; this violence may be physical, or emotional, direct or indirect. In certain situations, the child’s experience

(Brescoll & Graham-Bermann, 2000, p.2). Another mental health problem that children who have witnessed domestic violence experience is adjustment problems. There appears to be a wide spread belief that children who witness violence between their parents are at a greater risk of later adjustment difficulties that may include behavior problems (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.3). Young people reporting high levels of exposure to inter-parental violence had elevated rates of adjustment problems by age eighteen (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.1). It is suggested that there are elevated rates of behavioral, emotional, and other problems in children exposed to inter-parental violence (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.3). There seems little doubt that children reared in homes characterized by inter-parental violence were at greater risk of later adjustment difficulties as young adults (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.11). It is quite apparent that there is a link between the witnessing of domestic violence and the mental health problems of the children who witness it.

The aim of this report is to highlight the fact that children are indeed affected by domestic violence, and to utilise extracts from recent research to illustrate the point. Krug et al. (2002) have observed that children who have seen the abuse of a parent are likely to display psychological and behavioural issues that a child unaffected by domestic violence would not, such as suicidal tendencies, self-esteem issues and anxiety disorders. This report will look into three main categories, the first being what children know and understand about domestic violence, which shall touch on the

Violence in any form can have a lasting effect on a person. Children who witness violence are permanently scarred because of what they are seeing. Children who witness family or domestic violence are affected in ways similar to children who are physically abused. Children are often unable to establish nurturing bonds with either parent and are at a greater risk for abuse and neglect if he or she lives in a violent home. Statistics show that an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence against their mothers or female caretakers by family members in their home each year (Ackerman & Pickering, 1989). When a spouse, woman or male is abused, and there are

Effects of domestic violence on children, result from witnessing domestic violence in a home, plays a tremendous role on the well-being and developmental growth of children witnessing the violence. The child will always be on guard, scared for himself, and his mother. The child will suffer emotional and psychological trauma from living in a home where his father abuses his mother. Most experts believe that children who are raised in abusive homes learn that violence is an effective way to resolve conflicts. They may replicate the violence they witnessed as children in their teen and adult relationships and parenting

Domestic Violence in Australia Before considering the possible solutions to Domestic Violence in Australia, it is imperative to develop an understanding of the scale and scope of the problem. Firstly, there must be acknowledgement of the particularly damaging nature of domestic violence, Minister for Child Protection Helen Morton stating, “The impacts of this experience on the physical and emotional wellbeing, and overall quality of life, for adult and child victims can be devastating, with many experiencing a lifetime of fear, threatened and actual abuse and violence.” (Western Australia.

Domestic violence that occurs in the home, will of course, hurt a child in one for or another; either being the target of the violence or by witnessing the issue. In interviews conducted by Sev’er (2002), many mothers stated that children get hurt because they happen to be around when their mothers are being attacked (105). One

According to the above literature and the fact on the ground domestic violence physically, psychologically and socially affects women, men and their families. In addition, the abuse usually is an attempt by one partner to exert control through pressure, fear, verbal abuse or threats of violence. Therefore, the family system concepts theory “understanding the significance of the environmental context of the family system is the key to assessing family process and outcomes” Thomlison, 2010, p. 45). The family system “concept 1 theory is the family as a system is greater than the sum of its individual system (Thomlison, 2010, p. 46). In addition, this theory is very helpful on identity the impact of the domestic violence on the family because the issues are related to one another any change in one part will affect the others (Thomlison, 2010, p. 46). According to this concept, a practitioner can clearly visualize children growing up in violent homes do not need to be physically abused to take on violent and delinquent behavior it is enough to witness their mother’s or father’s abuse. For instance, if a practitioner is dealing with a teenager who is struggling lose the ability to feel empathy for others, feel socially isolated, unable to make friends as easily due to social discomfort or confusion over what is acceptable. The practitioner if he uses concept 1 can assist and understand the cause of teenage behavior during intervention if he understands the family as a whole”

One of the myths that stands out to me is “the younger the child, the less they will be affected by exposure to violence”. This statement is false because young children are exposed to the effects of violence. Children are deeply affected they can develop psychological problems in the future. Another myth that stands out to me is “young children will not remember the violence they witnessed”. However, children never forget what they witnessed, the memories of the event will never disappear. Children are able to recall traumatic events. Domestic violence impacts children in a very negative manner. Children who have witnessed violence become fearful, anxious, worthless and powerless. Children who have are raised in abusive homes “learn that violence is an effective way to resolve conflicts and problems. They may replicate the violence they witnessed as children in their teen and adult relationships and parenting experiences” (“The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children,” n.d.). A common coping strategy is to acknowledge and validate the child’s concerns. Other coping strategies are counseling the child, play therapy and art therapy. In addition, a child will require a lot of empathy and love when trying to overcome traumatic

Sandra Santiago is a 20-year-old female of Puerto Rican decent. She is currently in a relationship of domestic violence, consisting of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse. Her mother was abused by her father. Sandra was also molested by her step-brother and there was a point where she wanted to kill herself and her parents. She ran away from home and was placed into a group home when she was 15. She left the group home at the age of 17 and was abusing drugs and alcohol; she went to rehab and has been clean for 3 years. She met her boyfriend in rehab, she did finish high school and she joined job corp. Her part-time job isn’t enough for her to be financially independent, and to date she does not want to seek help with the Department of Social Services for financial and medical help. Sandra stands 5’2” and weighs 90 lbs. She doesn’t eat normally as to maintain her small frame for her boyfriend, she is able to express herself on paper, and is of the Catholic faith. Her parents do not support her emotionally; this has left her with a low self-esteem and wanting to be loved. She also thinks she might be pregnant.

“I hate you!” Most mothers have heard this at least once, as an expression of anger not sincerity. However, a few children direct undeserved rage at previously cherished parent due to a derogatory campaign from the other parent. Parental alienation is the term used to describe behaviors, chiefly during high conflict divorce, of one parent to coerce his child into cruelty against the targeted parent for reasons not based in reality. Because this is such a complex subject, this essay will focus on only some of the tactics alienating parents employ to vilify the other parent and create a loyalty conflict for their child, specifically; disparagement, enmeshment and gatekeeping.

Children who experience domestic violence within the home may not have a positive representation of healthy relationships and they may learn the undesirable aspects about relationships. While some children may respond by avoiding abuse in their own relationships as they grow older, others may repeat what they have seen in abusive relationships with their own peers or partners (Tsavoussis, 2014). Children may also learn and think is it acceptable to control another person’s behavior or feelings, or to use violence to get what they want. Research has shown that children who are raised in abusive homes learn that violence is an effective way to resolve and handle

In introduction this paper is going discuss, based on psychological theories, what impact and effects witnessing domestic violence can have on children. The purpose of this paper is to further an understanding on explaining its consequences based on a few psychological theories. It will begin with defining what domestic violence in order to get a clear indication on what it actually involves and further presenting a sample papers studying the question, on its impact and effect, it is suggested to have on children, in order to produce a paper with both high validity and reliability. Then moving onto presenting various psychological theories which on could considered relevant to the topic in question. By further engaging in a discussion in attempt to highlight and acknowledge several aspects regarding its consequences.

Throughout the course of one’s lifetime, there are countless events that shape the personality, actions and mentality of that individual. Some of these events will affect the individual in a positive way allowing great life opportunities, while other events will unfortunately affect the individual in a negative way which can lead to disorders. Among the various events that can affect a person, one of the most common occurrences that some children witness early on in their lives that deeply affect their long-term mental health is being a witness to domestic violence. Research and observations that were studied revealed that there are multiple factors that can contribute to a child witnessing domestic violence. The more categories that the