The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children

Gosselin (2010) roughly states that Intimate partner violence is most commonly known as domestic violence but the terms spouse abuse or battering are sometimes used. (pg. 166) Gosselin (2010) goes on to define intimate partner violence as violence that is committed by a spouse whether it be ex-spouse or current, a same sex partner or an opposite sex partner that is loving in the home with the victim including girlfriends and/or boyfriends. (pg. 166) Womenshealth.gov (2015) defines domestic violence as, in regards to a relationship, one individual emotionally or physically hurting another individual. The violence is most often caused by the current or former husband or current or former boyfriend. There are many forms of intimate partner violence which include physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse which can and usually does include emotional abuse, threats of

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

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.

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.

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

The level of impact and trauma of violence depend on many factors which affect on their perception and respond. Children’s age is one of the most crucial elements reflect this.It was evident that infants and young children are threatened significantly of health and psychology.

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.

Domestic violence can lead to several long-lasting effects for both adults and children. While growing up, children’s brains are very susceptible to remembering and reenacting what they have previously seen. In the case of domestic violence, children can suffer from adverse childhood experiences, ACEs, which have long-lasting effects such as having trouble with school work, personality problems, social development issues, and more cognitive struggles (UNICEF, 2006, p. 4). As discussed by Karen Kenney in her book “Domestic Violence” Emotional trauma can lead to elevated levels of stress which can cause a variety of health problems. This trauma can also cause depression which can lead to thoughts of suicide and cause PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress

In many states, all over the world, some children reside in homes where domestic violence takes place. Domestic violence can be defined as a man or woman, family member, or spouse(s), physically threatening to harm each other within their home. Though domestic violence is considered a criminal law, it is sometimes not reported, and the physical attacks and harassments could be a continuous act upon these individuals (Newman, 1975).

Domestic Violence is any willful intimidations, sexual assault, physical assaults, or any other forms of physical or verbal violent behavior by one intimate partner towards another. Domestic Violence can create both psychological and emotional effects on both the intended victim and anyone that witnesses it to include children. Some children that witness domestic violence are experiencing serious effects that they have to deal with all their lives. The severity of these effects on children depends on the intensity, consistency and whom is being assaulted. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Syndrome is one of the most serious effect that children are experiencing from Domestic Violence.

Through encompassing qualitative analysis together with the qualitative research, the detrimental effects of living under abusive conditions, are emphasized. These children Pynoos augments, were “living under the shadow of a lethal threat” (Pynoos 1987, p. 1256) and had been exposed to extreme levels of violence. The children referred to in these studies, had been subject to abuse and dilapidation and were witnesses in slaughters (McClosky 1985; Pynoos 1987). In Hester and Pearson’s (1996) study of the negative psychological effects of growing up in a home prone to domestic violence, many mothers described the deleterious impact on their children. Laura (Hester and Pearson; 1996:9) quoted that her daughter, ‘had nightmares … and that her teachers are really worried about her due to the effects its having on her at school.’ Another mother, Davina, also said that her son saw a lot violence resulting in his speech being very delayed (Hester and Pearson;

Domestic abuse is a major concern and one that takes a major toll on American families. Anyone can become a victim of domestic violence as it knows no gender, has no age limit and can happen within any social status. Its common knowledge that 1 in 4 women will have experienced domestic violence at least once in their lives and many times these women have children in the home. Domestic abuse not only causes physical injuries and scars but also mental scaring for not only the victims, but for the children that witness the abuse, thus creating a cycle of abuse throughout generations. It is suggested that approximately “10 million children

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).

Traditional research to ascertain the effects of living with domestic violence on children conducted psychological test to measure children’s competency and development. Development psychologists experimented on children in laboratory settings, if the level of competency demonstrated by a child was below average for their age and stage of development, witnessing domestic violence was deemed to be the cause. To know whether a child has been harmed by their experiences we need to how ‘normal’ children function and develop (Archard 197). But there is no universally agreed timeless norm of children’s health and development. Some psychologists believe domestic violence effects the way that children think and can cause ‘pre-mature’