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.

Children who witness domestic violence in their home often experience a multitude of mental and emotional difficulties. Many studies have shown childhood violence is associated with depression, incarceration and committing domestic violence themselves Buckley et al. (2007) and Katz, Settler & Gurtovenko (2016). Scholars also found that children who are both witnesses and victims both have increased levels of aggression and behavior problems Sternberg, Lamb, Guterman & Abbott (2006). Not only are children prone to aggression and behavior problems, witnessing domestic violence makes children susceptible to post traumatic stress disorder. Meltzer et al. (2009) found children who have witnessed domestic violence to be fearful and show more anxiety and depression than other children who did not experience domestic violence.

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

Domestic Violence has a great effect on children. Domestic violence also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse or child abuse is recognized as a pattern of abusive behavior by one or both partners especially those in marriage. This coercive behavior is used against another person to obtain power and control over the other party in a relationship. Domestic violence takes many forms such as physical violence which includes kicking, hitting, shoving and restraining. Verbal and physical threats of sexual abuse, intimidation and emotional abuse are aspects of domestic abuse. Criminal justification of domestic violence varies between different states such that

Children who live in domestic violence homes are constantly being exposed to verbal and physical abuse, directly or indirectly, it has to account for some form of damage within them. They generally suffer in silence, but often develop high levels of aggression, anger issues and anxiety, and often become depressed, there is even a potential to develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Therefore,

there is not a single news broadcast aired on television or radio that does not have at least one account of violence perpetrated against an individual or group.” (Crosson-Tower p.81). Our youths encounter violence in almost every aspect of their daily life at home, at school, through the media, or on the streets of their neighborhoods. I feel that when children are exposed to violence, they suffer and it tends to negatively affect children’s normal development and their future wellbeing. For instance, children that are exposed to domestic violence are more likely than those whom are not exposed to this type of violence to exhibit so same traits and are more likely to later be in an abusive adult relationship, as either aggressor or victim.

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.

In this research article, the authors presented many finding from many different studies trying to understand why women may divorce at slower rates when involved in a domestic violence situation. There are contributing factors that allow women to stay in the relationship longer than one would expect. Children, financial responsibility, control, and lack of resources all contribute to the process of deciding to leave a marriage. This researcher will analyze individuals who tell their stories in the self help clinics when finally filing for divorce.

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.

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.

Everyday women are being beaten , terrorized and murdered at the hands of their husbands, boyfriends and ex-husbands. At least one woman is battered every 15 seconds. As society we tend to close our eyes to this big problem that affects everybody. we use excuses like that’s none of our business and that we don’t want to get involved, that until someone is murdered and then we are shocked and terrified.

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

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).