Essay about The Effect Domestic Violence Has Upon Children

(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.

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

The first five years of a children’s lives are when he or she are most vulnerable to negative developmental effects due to trauma. More than half of the school age children in domestic violence shelters show clinical levels of anxiety or post traumatic stress disorders. (Myers, 2002) “Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an emotional illness that usually develops as a result of a terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise highly unsafe experience” (Edwards, 2009). Because children in these early ages have little understanding of the situation, children may interpret the acts of violence as a result of something they have done wrong. Small children will complain of stomachaches. Children may learn unhealthy was of dealing with anger, meaning they might have outburst of anger and rage or may just withdraw. Children may regress to an even younger age crying, whining or sucking their thumb. Children will learn that this violence is acceptable behavior. With out intervention and therapy, negative behaviors can be carried over to adolescence and adulthood (Moore, 2004).

Children react to their environment in different ways, and those reactions can vary, depending on the child 's gender and age. Children exposed to family violence are more likely to develop behavioral, emotional, psychological, and social problems than those who are not. Recent research indicates that children who witness domestic violence show anger and temperament problems, depression, low self-esteem, and more anxiety than children who do not witness violence in the home. The trauma they experience can show up in behavioral, physical, social, and emotional disturbances that affect their development and can continue into adulthood.

For children living in violent and unsafe homes, they are learning that hitting and verbally abusing someone is the proper way of communicating love. According to Holt, Buckley & Whelan (2008), “as they learn a generational cycle begins in which children grow up to be victims and abusers as adults.” The effects that domestic violence has on children are heartbreaking. Some of the major effects are; increased risk of poor health, poor education, isolation, learned helplessness and decreased satisfaction in such family environment.

Domestic violence effects everybody in a family. Patterns of abuse from one parent to another, between both parents or directed toward a child all have a composite effect of inflicting potentially severe emotional damage upon the child. The research outlined here identifies domestic violence as a serious sociological problem and consequently provides a usable definition of domestic violence for the present study. This is followed by a discussion on the various psychological consequences of exposure to domestic violence for a developing child. This includes acknowledgement of the manner in which this exposure may damage the ability to formulate healthy social relationships later in life as well as a greater proclivity toward behavior problems, learning difficulties, substance abuse and a learned pattern of violent tendencies.

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.

Younger children do not have the ability to express or show their emotions which can cause behavioral problems. Even a child who witness domestic violence between their caregivers is more likely to suffer from emotional consequences from seeing violence. The long-term effects of exposure in young children can have negative effects in their later years. These outcomes have been documented as leasing to behavioral problems that include school dropout, violence, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, eating disorders, and even suicide attempts. In conclusion, when parents engage in any type of dynamic of domestic violence or aggression, their children, can be at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to emotional development. There are a variety of risk factors that can affect a child

Whenever we talk about the subject of domestic violence, the first concern that we have is on adults who have experienced it. However, little attention has been paid to children who were exposed to domestic violence. The tragic reality of a long term effects for who have experienced domestic violence is not only to adult but their children. The younger the children is the harder for them to understand violence and coping with it. Therefore, children who witness their parents being abused are more likely to growing up thinking hurting people is a way to protect themselves or that is okay to being hurt by other. According to a study, nearly “4.8 million acts of physical or sexual aggression are perpetrated against women while 2.9 million physically

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

Many children witness domestic violence each day. Most times, children witness their mothers being abuse by their fathers, step-fathers, or mother’s boyfriends. According to Couchenour and Chrisman (2011), “Women and children are at greater risk of being victims of abuse than are men” (p. 131). Witnessing violence or being abused at home has serious effects on children. This article explains the short-term and long-term effects that domestic violence has on children.

47) Children experiencing and being witness of all the violence can become traumatic not only during their childhood but also can during their adulthood. Children living and watching their parents having domestic violence and living violence daily will behave the same way when they finally become adolescence. In another study, researchers have explained that the consequence of parents having domestic violence is on their children. Youth facing domestic violence is in a high risk and expose to numerous outcomes to become violent (Gardner, Browning, & Brooks-Gunn, 2012, pg.662). Another problem that children are in a big chance of developing is bullying. Problems between families can make children feel depressed and feel less than every friend around. On this study, researchers have found that children are the victims of bullying are suffering from depression, anxiety and doing poorly academically. Which all, if these problems come from children being abused and facing domestic violence (Shetgiri, Lin, & Flores, 2015,

Social learning theory elucidates the causal of domestic violence through a human behavioral approach. This perspective claims that the perpetration of abuse is learned through reinforcement and modeling. Mihalic and Elliott (1997) conclude that violence is learned directly or indirectly in childhood and continued into adulthood. This theory also proposes that exposure to violence in the family creates norms about the acceptance and appropriateness of the usage of aggression. Ali and Naylor (2013) state children think it is normal to use violence for conflict management. The tolerance for violence may increase after witnessing and experiencing violence. Victimized children use violence as a resource to control others is outlined by Sellers

In order to conduct the research, twenty-nine children and their families were selected from 426 different areas within England, Wales and Scotland. Some parents refused to take part in the research, while 76% agreed to be interviewed (Meltzer et al. 2009). The research that was organized determined that the violence affects different age groups and sexes in different ways.

Domestic violence affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men (NCADV, 2015). Although the devastating effects that domestic violence has on women are well known, there is a population of domestic violence victims that we tend to overlook. These are the children of the women and men who are in domestic violence situations. Children are the invisible victims when it comes to domestic violence. There are many statistics being thrown around when it comes to the number of children who are exposed to domestic violence; they range from as little as 200,000 to even 3-18 million (Sousa et. al., 2011). A 2001 study discovered that in 75% of the cases in their study, children were present in the home during the assaults (Hutchison & Hirschel, 2001).