The Effects Of Domestic Violence On Children

Lorenzo 'Shakes' Carcaterra was a boy from Hell’s Kitchen, New York, in the 1960’s. Shakes is of Italian decent and lives with his father and mother in a small apartment. Lorenzo’s father worked long hours for little pay and was quick to anger and used violence to control the household. Shakes witnessed the physical and emotional abuse of his mother. He never confronted his father, but always tried to play the peacekeeper between the two. Shakes mother was not fluent in English and had a hard time connecting to the community and her son. The trauma that Shakes went through because of the domestic violence shaped his psychological and social development. Shakes was a resilient kid and sought social support from three boys: Thomas "Tommy" Marcano, Michael Sullivan, John Reilly and various other men in his community.

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

The formative experiences that define a child's home life will have a lasting impact on the individual as he or she enters the later stages of childhood, adolescence and adulthood. The degree to which one's family life is loving, nurturing, supportive and attentive is a substantial determinant in emotional, social and intellectual development. Accordingly, a home which is abusive, violent, negative and neglectful is more than likely to have deleterious effects for the child both while and well after maintaining residence there. This turns us toward the focus of the present study, which is the impact levied by domestic violence on children.

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.

Domestic violence is defined as the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another (“Domestic violence – Definition and more from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary,” n.d.). Texas Family Code Sec 71.004 defines family violence as an act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or that is a threat that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, but does not include defensive measures to protect oneself. Nowhere in the definitions does it specify male to female, adult to child, child to elderly or any other kind of specific limitations for what is domestic violence. That being said, one group that does often get overlooked is the witnesses to the violence. Most people consider domestic violence as between two adults in some sort of non-stranger relationship. So, for this paper, that is how we will address the ones who watch it happen and suffer because of seeing it – the children.

Many children are also affected by domestic violence. This is not because they were the one who are being attack. Most of the time it is because they are witnessing what is happening to their mothers and sometimes fathers. As 15% of all children have witnessed domestic violence and 32% of children know someone who is affected by domestic violence. Domestic violence can also impact a child’s health as it can lead to depression, anxiety, leaving the home early, running away and even suicide. Many children are also affected by domestic violence as it is not only one group of people that it

Millions of women and men are hiding a terrifying secret, they are being abused by someone they love. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline nearly half of all women and men in the United States have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Domestic violence is more common then you may think and affects all types of people. Victims of domestic violence have often succumbed to the controlling patterns of their abuser. For many, once they realize how bad their situation is, it is too late.

Domestic violence that affects children in elementary school are a good amount. Children are the primary one 's who get more affected when domestic violence is going on in there homes. There are many signs a child can give you when they are suffering from a trauma or depression from domestic violence. Some children get affected differently some have trouble internalizing, others have fear and pressure, and others will try to solve the problem.

Overall, these abuses lead to some significant impacts not only on the victims, but also on the society. Though, some abuses have minor impacts, but most of the abuses have long-term affect and some of them of the affects of abuse stay for decades. In an article, “The Hidden Consequence Of Domestic Violence Linger For Decades”, from Think Progress, the author Tara Culp-Ressler wrote, “You’re at a higher risk for some of the largest health problems that our country is facing today” which informs that the victims of domestic violence are at higher risk of some of the serious health problems which can significantly impact on one’s life. Most of the affects of domestic violence are with health, which is caused mostly from physical abuse, but from emotional and sexual abuse as well. The minor health affects from domestic violence can be recovered by seeing the doctor immediately, but the major injuries takes a long time to recover, and some major affects don’t even recover which leaves the victim as disabled and makes them different from a normal person. The Affects from sexual abuse can ruin one’s life as it has a chance of causing affects in the reproductive system especially for the women. Emotional abuse is also has significant affect, perhaps the biggest affect on a victim’s life as it plays with the emotion of a person. Other than the health affects, the domestic violence have some significant impact in a victim’s life because the victims usually don’t live freely like a

A stigma is forming among society that domestic violence only impacts those that are directly involved in the relationship. One needs to redirect his/her thinking to the perspective of the entire “family,” whether it be mixed, bi-racial, large, or small. Domestic violence has the impeccable capability to affect the emotional well-being and health of a child. Adolescents who are not fully matured to comprehend a situation of this magnitude, often become filled with emotions that they also do not understand. One of which possibilities that are played out for children in domestic violence situations would be when children take the life they are presented with and learn to use it as a form of motivation to aid in the betterment of their lives. Situations have also been known to morph into a completely opposite direction when children become overwhelmed, feel no hope of escaping, and their motivation plummets. Society needs to become fully aware of the effects of domestic violence on children because of these scenarios and many others that can be orchestrated.

A survey released earlier this year, showed that nearly “8 out of 10 domestic violence shelters nationwide reported an increase in women seeking help.” As reported by the ‘Mary Kay Truth About Abuse Survey’. The survey went on to show that “74% of women stayed with an abuser longer for economic reasons, and 50% of shelters reported that the abuse is becoming increasingly more violent”. With domestic violence on the rise, it’s time that more drastic measures are taken to prevent this horrendous act.

Starts from strong arguments, to name calling, to slamming doors to throwing objects around the house and getting mad, to you letting him or her put a hand on you domestic violence is not something you should take lightly. Domestic violence does not only happen between a woman and a man, a man and man, or a woman and woman. These types of abuses can be physical, sexual, emotional, and threats of actions that influence another person. In addition, this includes manipulation of any kind, intimidation, hurting, injure or wound someone. Domestic violence is a criminal offense in almost all countries across the world. It is important to be aware of the different types of abuses, how they emerge, and how to stop them.

In a similar study by Ybarra, Wilkens, Lieberman (2007) the goal was to determine if domestic violence leads to functioning shortfalls, and what its effects it has on a child’s behavioral and cognitive functioning. In homes where domestic violence happens, young children are more likely to witness violence than older children. It was hypothesized that children who witnessed violence at home had lower verbal capabilities, and would display greater internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

Domestic violence is any behavior of physical, sexual, emotional, or physiological acts or threats that intimidate a person or partner by trying to control or maintain power. Unfortunately, many children experience these harmful acts in the home between family members, all of different ages, ethnicities, and statuses. When thinking about a safe and healthy childhood and environment, what comes to mind? Parents or guardians attending to their children’s needs; a feeling of comfort, feeling loved, a feeling of safety and security, and a place without violence. Today, there are a lot of children who experience domestic violence in the

There are many consequences of not taking a strong stance against domestic abuse and the later impact on the children in the situation. Even if the children are not involved in the actual abuse, they are still negatively impacted by the presence of domestic violence in their households (Osofsky 1990). When abuse is condoned or ignored in a domestic relationship, children can begin to assume that is a normal occurrence, which can be a concept they carry with them for the rest of their lives. Prior research has shown that It is thus the first hypothesis of this research that former children born into abusive homes may grow up to repeat the same process in their own homes as adults, either as the abuser or the victimized partner in a domestic relationship (Rosa 2008). Secondly this research would hypothesize that children born into abusive households would also be more likely to enter into an abusive relationship, where they become the victim they once saw one of their parents to be.