Prevalence
Each year approximately 4.8 million acts of physical or sexual aggression are perpetrated against women while 2.9 million physically aggressive acts are perpetrated against men within the United States (Edleson, Ellerton, Seagren, Kirchberg, Schmidt & Ambrose, 2007). Many of these incidents take place in the presences of children, which make these figures even more disturbing (Evans, Davies & DiLillo, 2008). Research indicates that 40.2% of United States battered women responding in national surveys state that their children have witnessed one or more abusive events (Edleson et al., 2007). Overall 66% of research samples regarding childhood exposure to domestic violence reported to having direct exposure to the abuse (Barnett, Miller-Perrin & Perrin, 2011).
Prevalence of childhood exposure of domestic violence can be understood considering many different things such as the numbers of children exposed and their experiences, how exposure impacts children development, factors that increase risks or provide protection against the negative effects of exposure, and the types of interventions that can be implemented to mitigate deleterious effects (Osofsky, 2003). The two most widely cited two researchers Carlson and Straus developed estimates of childhood exposure to domestic violence. Based on studies of the number of households experiencing domestic violence each year, Carlson found that at least 3.3 million children yearly are at risk of exposure to parental violence (Herrenkohl, Sousa, Tajima, Herremkohl & Moylan, 2008; Edleson et al., 2007). Straus estimated an even higher level of exposure using retrospective accounts by adults in their teenage years. Stratus estimated that 10 million American teenagers were expose...
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...d exposure to adult domestic violence. Children and Youth Services Review , 29, 961-971.
Evans, S. E., Davies, C., & DiLillo, D. H. (2008). Exposure to domestic violence: A meta-analysis of child and adolescent outcomes. Aggression and Violent Beahvior, 13, 131-140.
Herrenkohl, T. I., Sousa, C., Tajima, E. A., Herremkohl, R. C., & Moylan, C. A. (2008). Intersection of child abuse and children's exposure to domestic violence. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 9(84), 84-99.
Holt, S., Buckley, H., & Whelan, S. J. (2008). The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: A review of the literature. Child Abuse and Neglect, 32, 797-810.
Osofsky, J. D. (2003). Prevalence of children's exposure to domestic violence and child maltreatment: Implications for prevention and intervention. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6(3), 161-170.
Thornton, Victoria. “Understanding the Emotional Impact of Domestic Violence on Young Children." Educational & Child Psychology, Mar2014, Vol. 31 Issue 1, p90-100, 11p, 3 Black and White Photographs, 1 Diagram; found on p95
Parameswari, B. (2015). Domestic Violence and Child Abuse. IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science, 20(2), 56-59. Retrieved from http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol20-issue2/Version-3/I020235659.pdf
The phrase “domestic violence” typically refers to violence between adult intimate partners. It has been estimated that every year there are about 3.3 to 10 million children exposed to domestic violence in the confines of their own home (Moylan, Herrenkohl, Sousa et al. 2009). According to research conducted by John W. Fantuzzo and Wanda K. Mohr(1999): “[e]xposure to domestic violence can include watching or hearing the violent events, direct involvement (for example, trying to intervene or calling the police), or experiencing the aftermath (for example, seeing bruises or observing maternal depression)” (Fantuzzo & Mohr, 22). The effects of exposure can vary from direct effects such as behavioral and developmental issues to interpersonal relationships, all of which lead to detrimental prospects on the child’s development. This paper will explore those effects and how it affects children.
Elrod and Ryder (2011) state that child physical abuse is rather more specific than any other kind of “discipline”. There is a difference between spanking and child physical abuse, and that child physical abuse is more of a degree, not kind. There is no specific estimate of the exact role that child abuse and neglect plays in the United States, however, it is certain that there is a significant social problem in this area. Elrod and Ryder (2011) state that even mild forms of violence against children may encourage aggression and that physical abuse is strongly related to a variety of childhood adjustment problems. One of the major areas of childhood adjustment problems lies within the area of violent juvenile crime. Child physical abuse, aside from having physical injuries, affects the mental state of a c...
Megan R. Holmes discusses Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and the effects it has on children. She starts her article by stating that one in seven men and one in four women have experienced IPV, and the households with female victims show that thirty-eight percent have children under the age of twelve living there. References Holmes, M. R. (2013). The sleeper effect of intimate partner violence exposure: long-term consequences on young children's aggressive behavior. Journal Of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 54(9), 986-995 Katz, C. (2014).
Today, children are likely to experience or witness violence in the home. With domestic violence being the most frequent type of violent crime, a child's homes is no longer a safe haven. Statistics show that domestic violence is the major cause of injuries to women; their husbands or lovers kill one third of all women murdered in United States. Unfortunately, a number of these cases occur in the presence of children.
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is historically referred to as domestic violence. It describes a pattern of coercive and assaultive behavior that may include psychological abuse, progressive isolation, sexual assault, physical injury, stalking, intimidation, deprivation, and reproductive coercion among partners (The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF), 1999). IPV leads to lifelong consequences such as lasting physical impairment, emotional trauma, chronic health problems, and even death. It is an issue effecting individuals in every community, regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, nationality or educational background. Eighty-five percent of domestic violence victims are women (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003). More than one in three women in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2012). Thirty to sixty percent of perpetrators tend to also abuse children in the household (Edelson, 1999). Witnessing violence between parents or caretakers is considered the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next (Break the Cycle, 2006).
Lundy, M., & Grossman, S. F. (2005). The mental health and service needs of young children exposed to domestic violence: Supportive data. Families in Society, 86(1), 17-29. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/230168631?accountid=10825
In the article “The Mental Health of Children Who Witness Domestic Violence”, Meltzer et al. (2009) noted that domestic violence is not only limited to seeing the actual violent acts taking place, but it also includes witnessing the outcomes of the violence. These outcomes can include seeing their parent hurt and depressed, as well as noticing the broken objects left around the house. As well as defining domestic violence, Meltzer et al. (2009) discussed the steps that were taken to conduct a random research on families and children that had been exposed to domestic violence and those who had not. The researchers identified...
Thackeray, Jonathan D.; Scribano, Philip V.; Rhoda, Dale. "Domestic violence assessments in the child advocacy center." Child Abuse & Neglect 34.3 (2010): 172-182. Web.
How does domestic violence between parents and parental figures affect the children who witness it? This is a question often asked by Sociologists and Psychologists alike. There have been studies that prove that children who witness domestic inter-parental violence experience mental health problems, issues with gender roles, substance abuse, the committing of crimes and suicide/suicide attempts later in their lives. This paper will explore all five of these 'effects' of domestic violence on children and show that there is evidence of a clear relationship in which increasing parental violence is associated with increasing outcome risks (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.8).
Violence is displayed everywhere in society through media like entertainment, in their schools and communities, and within their homes. It is difficult to imagine living in a world without some sort of violence due to it being so prevalent in society. Many children have been exposed to violence in their own homes or have become victims leaving detrimental short and long term effects. There are three forms of domestic violence in the homes. They are physical, sexual, emotional abuse. People often think of domestic violence as having bruises or a broken arm, but in reality it is an occurrence that happens repeatedly over a period of time. One study concluded “children in domestic violence shelters found that almost half their mothers had
Part of the reason domestic violence is not reported as often is because children can be a witnesses and they do not have accesses or knowledge to report such acts. Even children who do have access to help are still not always helped. According to Lisa Floyd from The San Francisco Journal, when she was six years old she placed several phone calls to 911 reporting her step-dad attacks on her mother and siblings. Even though she had called the police several times and child service came several times she was never taken from her house. Several years later Kit Gruelle followed up with her and at the time she was in a domestic violent relationship (Dean 1). The affect that witnessing or being a victim of domestic violence has on children is more alarming then one would think, “Children who live in homes where there is domestic violence also suffer abuse or neglect at high rates. Along with, are more likely to have health problems, including becoming sick more often, having frequent headaches or stomachaches, and being more tired and lethargic” (Safe Horizon 1). Children’s are extremely caring and protective of the ones who take care and nurture them. Unfortunately studies show that “children are more likely to intervene when they witness severe violence against a parent – which can place a child at great risk for injury or even death” (Safe Horizon
Domestic abuse and child abuse have widespread social and emotional costs. Family violence affects all segments of the family. The impact of violence on childrens' lives appears to be far more substantial than the impact on adults lives(Family, Pg. 1). In most cases of family violence the family has conformed to a pattern in which the line of family violence started generations ago. This pattern must be broken before more children growup and live in a family that resorts to violence. But there are also children who live in loving families who do not resort to violence and as these children mature they start resorting to violence to help solve and deal with their problems. Studies show that physical punishment could cause aggression in children, but other studies show that even abusive parental violence does not always lead to an increase in children's aggression. Only by recognizing and addressing the multifactorial roots of violence in our society can we move closer to living in peace.
Billboards, radio, and TV ads across the country proclaim that “every fifteen seconds a woman is beaten by a man.” Violence against women is clearly a problem of national importance, but has anyone ever asked how often men are beaten by women? The unfortunate fact is that men are the victims of domestic violence at least as often as women are. While the very idea of men being beaten by their wives runs contrary to many of our deeply ingrained beliefs about men and women, female violence against men is a well-documented phenomenon almost completely ignored by both the media and society.