Children Witnessing Domestic Violence HED 487B Emily Groben

Susan Still  n7K2k n7K2k n7K2k  Disturbed?  8 year old son was forced to watch  13 year old son was forced to video tape it  Husband would make her stand in front of him for hours  Abuse physical, emotional and verbal  Imagine being those children

Facts, Facts…  Domestic violence includes the following: - Intimidation - Isolation - Minimizing, denying and blaming - Guilt - Using male privilege - Controlling her economic rights - Threats - Hitting, punching, shouting

…And More Facts!  30% of US marriages are considered physically aggressive  Women 95% of victims  Men 5% of victims

Who  3.3 million US children witness domestic violence each year  275 million in the world  Boys more “externalized behaviors”  Girls more “internalized behaviors”  Child neglect to include children witnessing domestic violence in some states  Boys see father

Where (US):  Occurs more often in ____ areas  Not as common in ____ areas  Population has a lot to do with it  Or, as reported?

Where (Europe):  Teen Abuse Survey of Great Britain: - 1/3 of teenage girls experienced or witnessed at home - Did not consider it to be domestic violence - 43% of teenagers thought it was acceptable

Where (Middle East):  Spousal abuse widely accepted  Children not as emotionally effected  Victims of all ages and more likely to be in ___ areas and ___ educated  Children of those families more likely to continue the pattern  Rape legalized in Afghanistan -essential for the woman to submit to the man's sexual desire

Where: Philippines  Study conducted revealed that half of all young people reported witnessing domestic violence  1 in 10 male adolescents and 1 in 5 female adolescents wished they were dead  Suicide common  Depressive symptoms included headaches, poor digestion, worry, loneliness, trouble sleeping, and thoughts of suicide

What Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Problems  Higher levels of aggression, anger, hostility  Rebellious behavior and disobedience

What Cognitive and Attitudinal Problems  Lower cognitive functioning  Poor school performance  Lack of conflict resolution skills  Pro-violence attitudes  Belief in rigid gender stereotypes and male privilege

What Long-Term Effects  Higher levels of adult depression and trauma symptoms  Increased tolerance for violence in adult relationships, OR, abnormally high anti- violence attitudes  Frequent nightmares  Fear of relationships  Poor trust issues  Victims themselves

When:  Younger children: higher levels of anxiety after an event  Don’t understand  Adolescents: depression symptoms  Don’t like to see their parent a victim

Sources:   ence.cfm ence.cfm ence.cfm  subs.asp?GettInvolvedID=39 subs.asp?GettInvolvedID=39 subs.asp?GettInvolvedID=39    3/Depressive-symptoms-in-adolescents-associated-with- parental-domestic-violence /Depressive-symptoms-in-adolescents-associated-with- parental-domestic-violence /Depressive-symptoms-in-adolescents-associated-with- parental-domestic-violence  html html html