The Effects of Domestic Violence on Child Behavior The United States Department of Health and Human Services found parents and other caretakers mistreat 900,000 children in the case of child abuse (as cited in Moylan et al., 2010). Children can be abused directly or indirectly. Indirect abuse can be exposure to violence enacted by the mother or father towards each other (Baldry, 2007). As for direct abuse, this can include physical, sexual or psychological abuse done personally to the child. Research conducted by Jaffe, Sudermann, & Reitzel, and McDonald & Jouriles, shows that children growing up in a family that displays violence are at increased risk behavior problems (as cited in Jouriles, Norwood, McDonald, Vincent, & Mahoney, 1996). “Numerous studies, done by Herrenkohl et al., Stenberg et al., and Wolfe et al., have demonstrated that children exposed to domestic violence and/or child abuse are more likely to experience a wide range of hostile psychosocial and behavioral outcomes” (as cited in Moylan et al., 2010). According to Putnam, abusive children can become harmful to others, attempt to harm themselves or commit suicide, or become depressed, compared to non-abused children (as cited in Baldry, 2007). The pressure of being physically abused can put a toll on a child’s life. The subject of abuse is not something people just bring up into conversations and the child might to afraid to talk to someone about it. Some children might feel that taking their own life would be the best way to get away from the situation. Parents are not always aware of what they do effects their children. Some “mothers tend to underestimate the amount of violence their children have been exposed to” (Baldry, 2007). Parents might th... ... middle of paper ... ...ed by peers?. Swiss Journal of Psychology/Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Psychologie/Revue Suisse de Psychologie. Vol.65(2), 107-116. Moylan, C. A., Herrenkohl, T. I., Sousa, C., Tajima, E.A., Herrenkohl, R. C., & Russo, M. J. (2010). The effects of child abuse and exposure to domestic violence on adolescent internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Journal Of Family Violence, 25(1), 53-63. Sternberg, K. J., Lamb, M. E., Greenbaum, C., Cicchetti, D., Dawud, S., Cortes, R. M., Krispin, O., & Lorey, F. (1993). Effects of domestic violence on children's behavior problems and depression. Developmental Psychology. Vol.29 (1), 44-52. Wolfe, D. A., Jaffe, P., Wilson, S. K., & Zak, L. (1985). Children of battered women: The relation of child behavior to family violence and maternal stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Vol.53 (5), 657-665
Nowicka, P., Santoro, N., Liu, H., Lartaud, D., Shaw, M. M., Goldberg, R., Guandalini, C.,
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.
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Hohl, S. D., Thompson, B., Krok-Schoen, J. L., Weier, R. C., Martin, M., Bone, L., & ...
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.
Whelan, R., Conrod, P. J., Poline, J., Lourdusamy, A., Banaschewski, T., Barker, G. J, Bellgrove, M. A.,
Child abuse is a social problem in America that has many contributed factors. Factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect includes poverty, divorce, substance use, lack of education, stress due to unemployment, mental health issues, teenage parent, and a history of child abuse in the family. It took decades for physicians to conclude that parents have been violently assaulting their children. Child abuse, child labor, juvenile delinquency, and similar social questions historically were ethical and moral problems, not strictly medical ones. (Helfer, Kempe, & Krugman, 1997). In 1962, the Journal of American Medical Association published “The Battered-Child Syndrome.” The article transformed society’s views and dates the rediscovery of child abuse as a social problem. Following this article, the U.S. Children’s Bureau adopted the first laws mandating physicians to report any suspicions of abuse and neglect to the police or child welfare. By 1974, some 60,000 cases were reported. In 1980, the number exceeded one million (Myers J. E., 2004).
When the topic of abuse comes up, many different forms of abuse pop into individuals heads. Whether its Physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse or even drug abuse, the list just keeps going. Now take all those different forms abuse and imagine them happening in a family. A father physically abusing his children, a mother verbally berating her daughter about her body image, a child growing up in fear. According to the research by David Wolfe in the Journal of Consulting and clinical Psychology, that the number of children that have suffered a physical injury due to physical abuse is between 1.4 and 1.9 million annually. With such a high number of physical abuse happening to children, one can imagine how high the number of all the