Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Effects of domestic violence children
Effects of domestic violence children
Effects of domestic violence children
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Effects of domestic violence children
Depression and post traumatic stress disorder are two of the main illnesses seen in children after being exposed to domestic violence. Among depression and post traumatic stress disorder, there are multiple sub-categories to help place the severity of the disorder. Many influences can change the severity of a disorder in the child including but not limited to: length of exposure, type of exposure, and time-lapse since the exposure.
Domestic violence is defined as violence between members of a household such as that of a married couple or a parent to one’s child. Some cases of domestic violence can just be through witnessing while some of the more scarring events occur directly to the child. Domestic violence can be separated into three smaller categories: physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse. The most common type of domestic violence is done through physical abuse. This can include hitting, kicking, punching, choking, etc. Physical abuse can be minor in that it just leaves bruises or a bad memory, but physical abuse can also be as serious as broken bones, time in the hospital, or as serious as death. Sexual abuse is also a very common type of abuse. Pressuring a child to do sexual acts, child pornography, and unwanted penetration to a child’s genitals are all forms of sexual abuse. Psychological abuse is the least common form of abuse performed. Psychological abuse does exactly what the name states. It’s abuse to someone through their mind such as telling someone they are fat or that they are ugly.
Domestic violence can be scary for the young children who witness it. Depending on the situation, domestic violence can have negative outcomes that can stay with the child for the rest of his...
... middle of paper ...
...ional Journal 34 (2010): 448-453. EBSCO.
Smith, Barbera E., Laura B. Nickles, Darlanne Hoctor Mulmat, and
Heather J. Davies. Helping Children Exposed To Domestic Violence:Law Enforcement And Community Partnerships. Washington D.C: American Bar Association, 2000. Print.
"The Facts on Health Care and Domestic Violence." Family
Violence Prevention Fund. University California, San Francisco, n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. .
"Turning Point Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services."
Turning Point Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2014. .
Volpe, Joseph S. "Effects of Domestic Violence on Children and
Adolescents: An Overview." American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. N.p., 1996. Web. 7 Sept. 2014. .
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
In conclusion, it is clearly shown that domestic violence has a negative effect on the children who witness it. An expanding body of research suggests that childhood trauma and adverse experiences can lead to a variety of negative health outcomes (Anda & Chapman & Dube & Felitti & Giles & Williamson, 2001, p.1). In fact, childhood stressors such as witnessing domestic violence and other household dysfunctions are highly interrelated and have a graded relationship to numerous health and social problems (Anda & Chapman & Dube & Felitti & Giles & Williamson, 2001, p.2). It is obvious and clearly shown that the children who witness domestic abuse have serious long term mental effects.
“Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten” (American Bar). Just think about how many women have been beaten or coerced into non-pleasurable acts in just one day, when every nine seconds in the United States, some women is being abused. Now, globally, think about how many more people are being domestically abused and even killed.
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.
“And they lived happily ever after...” Little girls all over the world desire their love story to follow the path of these six promising words; but unfortunately for many young dreamers, this fairy tale finale becomes just the opposite of what they crave. These little girls grow up to become young women, and one out of every four will experience some sort of domestic violence in her lifetime. Domestic violence is “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and other abusive behavior perpetrated by one intimate partner against the other.” While there are occurrences of domestic abuse against men, women account for eighty-five percent of all domestic violence cases (NCADV). Domestic violence against women is a much too common problem in the world today, but by raising awareness and teaching people to identify domestic brutality, the ability to eliminate the issue becomes a more realistic possibility.
There exists a vast amount of literature that suggests that there is a connection between intimate partner violence and maladaptive outcomes for children. Studies have shown that children who witness violence undermines the children’s sense of security. Intimate partner violence (IPV) proves to be distressing and deregulating for the children victims of intimate partner violence. Not only is witnessing violence distressing for children but is also been shown that it can interfere with the deal with stressors and learn age-appropriate skills. While there have been many studies to show the effects of IPV on the development of children, there have not been studies that show how IPV can affect children’s memory skills.
“Domestic violence is an emotional, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse perpetrated against a person by a person's spouse, former spouse, partner, former partner or by the other parent of a minor child” (McCue 2). While it is these things, the violence is also considered a pattern of demeanor used to establish power and control over another person with whom an intimate relationship is or has been shared through fear and intimidation (“Domestic Violence Sourcebook” 9). It has many names, including spouse abuse, domestic abuse, domestic assault, battering, partner abuse, marital strife, marital dispute, wife-beating, marital discord, woman abuse, dysfunctional relationship, intimate fighting, mate beating, and so on (2). Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Accommodations, believes that domestic violence is “terrorism in the home” (2). This type of abuse involves threats, harm, injury, harassment, control, terrorism, or damage to living beings/property (2). It isn't only in relationships with spouses, it also occurs within family, elderly, and children (9).
According to research, 275 million children are annually exposed to domestic violence around the world (Miller et al., 2012). Ghasemi (2009), Martinez et al. (2009), and Owen et al. (2009) suggested that children exposed to domestic violence could experience a variety of internalizing and externalizing problems that can lead to negative outcomes. Internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression are commonly observed in children who are living with domestic violence (Moylan et al., 2009; Owen et al. (2009). Further, cognitive development can be affected by children’s exposure to domestic violence (Thornton, 2014; Graham-Bermann et al., 2010). Trauma symptoms can be developed early in life when children are exposed to violence at home (Martinez-Torteya et al., 2009). Moreover, children feel that the violent incidents are their fault and they blame themselves (Ghasemi, 2009; Owen et al., 2009). For instance, children tend to forget the domestic violence occurrence or express emotions though play to deal with the domestic violence events (Georgsson et al., 2011). Research illustrated that children are likely to develop physical problems such as bedwetting and sleep problems when exposed to violent acts (Thornton, 2014; Ghasemi, 2009). Likewise, physical development can be delayed and impacted because of domestic violence (Thornton, 2014; Ghasemi, 2009). Researchers found that children’s externalizing issues such as aggression, substance abuse, and inappropriate behavior at school are commonly observed in children that are impact with domestic violence (Ghasemi, 2009; Moylan et al., 2009; Owen et al., 2009). Additionally, children will display poor academic performance because of the reoccurring exposure to viol...
Domestic violence is a major problem in the United States. When most people think of domestic violence, they think of one person beating the other person in a relationship. Webster defines domestic violence as “the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another.” Domestic violence has a major effect on children. Some people say that the violence has no effect, while others argue that the violence has a negative effect on children. Domestic violence scars children for the rest of their lives. Once children witness the act of violence, they are more likely to have problems throughout the rest of their lives. Domestic Violence has a negative effect on the way children behave, the way they learn, the careers they choose,
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.
When a child witnesses domestic abuse it can have many different effects on the child. From my research I found that one of the most common effects on the child were mental health problems. In one study, conducted in New Zealand, young people that reported high levels of exposure to inter-parental violence had elevated rates of mental health problems (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.1). Some of the least severe mental health problems included anxiety, inability to focus, and nightmares (Brescoll & Graham-Bermann, 2000, p.2). But these problems, which appear to be less severe, can also be the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Brescoll & Graham-Bermann, 2000, p.2). In a study conducted in 2001 the results indicated that higher levels of symptoms indicative of post traumatic stress were associated with children who have witnessed domestic violence (Hill & Nabors & Reynolds & Wallace & Weist, 2001, p.1). ?Children who have witnessed domestic violence are more likely to develop symptoms associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; that is, high levels of an...
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 child falls into, the more likely they are to develop mental health issues later on in their life (Meltzer, Doos, Vostanis, Ford, and Goodman, 2009). The research conducted by Meltzer et al. (2009), was used to study the factors that were intertwined with domestic violence, as well as to better understand the needs of children who have witnessed the violence at a young age.
NCBI. (2007, December 1). Stress in Children and Adolescents Exposed to Family Violence: I. Overview and Issues. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2811337/
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
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