Domestic violence is comprised of willful intimidation, assault, battery, sexual assault or other abusive behavior committed by an intimate partner against another. According to The National Center for Victims of Crime (2011), aggressors of domestic violence persistently disparage, degrade or humiliate their partners. Unfortunately, domestic violence victims are known to habitually blame their own actions, rather than the violent behavior of the abuser. Conversely, violence perpetrated by abusers is repetitively self-driven and depends little on the victims' behavior. The use of psychological, emotional, and physical abuse fused together with episodes of "respite, love, and happiness are premeditated coercive tools used to generate submission" (The National Center for Victims of Crime, 2011, para. 6). This confusing behavior generates a perplexing situation for victims. Domestic violence affects not only those abused. Regrettably, children are victims of domestic violence too. The challenging battle amid intimate partners is continuously a burning research topic correlated to the ill effects that the violence has on children. Therefore, it is reputed that the impact of witnessing domestic violence would have the capability to place a magnitude of severe consequences on children. Innocent Victims of Domestic Violence Each year, an overwhelming number of innocent children are exposed to domestic violence. Children witnessing domestic violence in America are a significant dilemma that continues to be of high concern. It is estimated within the United States that approximately 15.5 million children have observed domestic violence, while seven million have witnessed brutal violence incidents (Fortin, Doucet, & Damant, 2011). This f... ... middle of paper ... ...f children who witness domestic violence. Child & Family Social Work, 14(4), 491-501. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2009.00633.x Stiles, M. (2002). Witnessing domestic violence: The effect on children. 1;66(11):2052-2067. American Family Physician. Retrieved from http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/1201/p2052.html Stover, C. (2005). Domestic violence research: What have we learned and where do we go from here? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, (20)4, 287-315. doi:10.1177/0886260504267755 The National Center for Victims of Crime. (2011). Domestic violence. Retrieved from http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32347#3 Vickerman, K., & Margolin, G. (2007). Posttraumatic stress in children and adolescents exposed to family violence: II. Treatment. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(6), 620-628. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.6.620
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
Domestic Violence is a widely recognized issue here in the United States. Though many people are familiar with domestic violence, there are still many facts that people do not understand. Abuse is not just physical, it is mental, emotional, verbal, sexual and financial. Many victims of physical abuse are also fall victim to these abuse tactics as well. An abusive partner often uses verbal, mental, emotional, and financial abuse to break their partner so to speak. It is through this type of abuse the victim often feels as though they are not adequately meeting their partner’s needs.
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.
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).
After many studies researchers have confirmed that when children are exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) it significantly effects their social emotional development (Hughes & Chau, 2013; Herman-Smith, 2013). This raises a concern; if IPV was to be measured emotional abuse should children be removed from their families. If we consider that the majority of children that witness IPV are under six and would not be able to fully understand what is happening we can conclude that they would not be able to report their maltreatment (Hughes & Chau, 2013). If either partner also chooses not to report the abuse it may continue and it would impact the child; the child could experience mental and behavioral problems. Therefore programs should be introduced to care givers that are dealing with aggression problems so that they can understand that their temperament and actions do affect their children both directly and indirectly.
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 a behavioral trait used to establish power and control over a person; the abuser uses fear and intimidation through threats or the use of violence. Other terms for domestic violence include intimate partner violence, battering, relationship abuse, spousal abuse, or family violence. One in four women will experience some type of domestic violence in her lifetime and 4,744,000 women a year are victims to this physical violence (Erez, 2002). Out of all these physical attacks towards women only 25% are reported! When a women is physically harmed by an intimate partner they are known to think it is out of love
Doak, Melissa J. Child Abuse and Domestic Violence. 2011 Ed. Gale Cengage Learning: Detroit. Print.
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).
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...
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...
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
Lemmey, D., McFarlane, J., Willson, P., Malecha, A. (2001). Intimate partner violence: mother’s perspectives of effects on their children. The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 26(2), 98-103.
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