At the most basic level, “Child exposure to domestic violence has an estimated 40 percent rate of co-occurrence with child maltreatment” (Edleson 2003: 1). When we consider that up to 275 million children are exposed to domestic violence (UNICEF 2006: 5), child maltreatment related to violence in the home is one of the most significant issues in the world. This maltreatment may come from father alone (beating mother and child), mother alone (beating the child, often after being beaten by the father), or father and mother. Significantly, children who suffered violence at the hands of a father figure (biological or stepfather) were affected more than children who were abused by men who had a more minimal role in their life. The group at greatest risk is those children who both witness and experience violence in the home, an assessment supported by both clinical studies and child self-ratings. (Edleson 2003: 10-11) They are not only vulnerable in terms of development, but also in terms of risk of occurrence, since "studies show that domestic violence is more prevalent in homes with younger children than those with older children." (UNICEF 2006: 3)
But even children who are not physically assaulted have been affected. At a psychological level, even children who were "not direct victims have some of the same behavioural and psychological problems as children who are themselves physically abused." (UNICEF 2006: 3; Heise 1999:20) We have already noted that children who experience and/or witness violence in the home are at a greater risk to be violent themselves. (n2) Many factors are involved in this increased risk.
Children learn to accept what is accepted by their families and do what is modeled for them, especially if violent solutions are given preference to nonviolent ones. At a deeper level, these children can internalize a persistent state of fear, a state that is difficult to escape from and that results in “impulsive, reactive violence.” While girls tend to dissociate at this level, boys tend to persist in a ‘fight-or-flight’ state. (n3) When a person becomes stuck like this, they persistently perceive their environment as threatening and react defensively. These responses, useful for immediate survival, become maladaptive as the child grows up. (Perry 1997)
If during development, this stress response apparatus is required to be persistently active, a commesurate [sic] stress response apparatus in the central nervous system will develop in response to constant threat. These stress-response neural systems (and all functions they mediate) will be overactive and hypersensitive. It is highly adaptive for a child growing up in a violent, chaotic environment to be hypersensitive to external stimuli, to be hypervigilant, and to be in a persistent stress-response state. In most cases, however, these "survival tactics" ill-serve the child when the environment changes. (Perry 1997)Further examples include higher than average rates of both antisocial and inhibited behaviors, lower social competence, and presentations of “anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms, and temperament problems.” (Edleson 2003: 10; UNICEF 3; Heise 1999: 20)
***Notes1) Works like Alice Miller’s For Your Own Good and Babette Rothschild’s The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment, while beyond the scope of this review, are an important contribution to understanding how experiencing trauma, including culturally acceptable forms of violence, can contribute to psychological disorders and the social conditioning of victims to violence. The former book concentrates on corporal punishment and its effects, while the latter explores the affects of trauma on the brains and bodies of trauma victims. Both concepts deserve attention for those seeking to understand the impacts of domestic violence on children.
2) "Several studies also reveal that children who witness domestic violence are more likely to be affected by violence as adults – either as victims or perpetrators." (UNICEF 2006: 3)
3) However, girls exhibit more aggressive behavior as they grow older and preschool children exposed to violence exhibit more problems than any other age group. (Edleson 2003: 11)
