Observing Domestic Violence In Children

Groves, B.M. (1999). Mental Health Services for Children Who Witness Domestic Violence. The Future of Children, 9(3), 122-132.

(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.

There are millions of examples of children who not only witness intimate partner violence (IPV) but also has been victimized. ( Christoff, Murrell & Henning, 2007) Children exposed to these kinds of violent behavior at such a young age also show signs of these behaviors, many violent, as adults. Evidence shows that witnessing violent behavior as a child correlates to patterns of abuse into adulthood as well. (Murrell et al., 2007) Over the years there has been a growing recognition that young people who witness IPV is has much of the same impact as a child victimized of abuse. This often damages their long term social and emotional well-being. Having a safe place outside of the home along with a supportive

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

Domestic violence is a widespread sociological problem wherein women and children are most often the victims. This sociological problem is compounded by the fact that so much domestic violence goes under-reported, whether against women or children. Domestic violence may take a wide range of forms and may include a variant combination of battery, sexual abuse, verbal abuse or general violence. Targets of such behaviors may include a spouse, child or both. For the purposes of this research, there will be an interest in noting the impact on children who are exposed to violence both directly as the victims of abuse or indirectly as witnesses to spousal abuse. In either instance, the same findings are anticipated. Namely, the primary thesis driving the

Recently, there has been an emphasis on the adverse effects of children 's exposure to violence between their adult family members and the

These factors lead way for the continuum of abuse and neglect being passed on through family generations. Parents who were raised in an abusive household were commonly associated with abusing or neglecting their own children out of commonality and pattern related to what they knew as a child (Dixon, Browne, and Hamilton-Giachritsis 2005). “Straus (1980) not only found support for the hypothesis that ‘violence begets violence,’ but they also provide data which demonstrate that the grater the frequency of violence, the greater the chance that the victim will grow up to be a violent partner or parent” (Gelles 1980).

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).

Young boys in the family who grow up watching their father mistreat their mother are more likely to abuse their spouse as they grow older. Past family history of domestic violence gives young boys the idea that women are weak and are not to be respected during their relationship. Young girls who eyewitness their family going through domestic violence are likely to be victimized by their spouse (Goldsmith 1).

Children are like play-doh. They can be molded a variety of ways. The surrounding environment and those involved in children’s lives help shape who they become, what characteristics they have, as well as what they stand for. Likewise, what we, as children, see and experience have a direct impact on how we react to various situations later. Some behaviors we pick up are beneficial and helpful, others, can be more dangerous whether to ourselves or others. One such behavior, or blend of behaviors, leads to what can be known as interpersonal violence. Violence between intimate parties can occur in a wide array of stages, whether between adults, children, or families. I am focusing my research and arguments on intimate violence between adolescent

McGee’s (2000:70) research showed, that for several children, the influence of living with fear and intimidation on a regular basis is more disturbing than the effects of specific violent incidents. Fear is the most mutual impact of domestic violence on children (McGee 2000:70). Children are more afraid of their fathers’ (or their mother’s partners’) unpredictability, they do not know what is going to happen or what he will do next. Children can also demonstrate more specific fears, in regards to the violence for example, they may fear for their own safety daily or certainly their life.

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.

Domestic Violence has been a major contributor to the development of aggressive behavior in adolescents. When children are exposed to violence, it destroys the societal image of a lovable upbringing. It important to note that not only is the child observing the violence-taking place but the consequence of the person’s actions. They see how their peers react to these types of situations and learn what they believe to be right from wrong. Researchers have found that domestic violent relationships can have a correlation with parent-child relationships in nearly 40% of families (Slep & O'Leary, 2005). Considering unmanaged anger seems to be a common indicator in both types of relationships. Many have found that factors such as stress can have an effect on the parent's reaction to their child's behavior. Since children learn from observing the actions of their peers, a child can start demonstrating the same aggressive behaviors witnessed in their homes. Domestic violent relationships are not the only factor that plays a role in

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

Until recently, there have been limited studies focused on the effects of exposure to domestic violence on children. This paper will review various literatures that identify the effects of domestic violence exposure on children. There were many trends in the literatures that were studied but there were two common trends worth mentioning. The first trend was the participants that were used in the studies. Many of the literatures mention that previous studies mainly gathered information from women and children who resided in battered women shelters. The second trend was the methods used for the studies. Many of the studies used surveys and interviews where women and children self-reported on their experiences.