Associates in Christian Counseling

What About the Children?

In many situations, domestic violence is not limited to an abuser and a single victim. According to www.endabuse.org, “slightly more than half of female victims of intimate violence live in households with children under the age of 12. In a national survey of more than 6,000 American families, 50% of the men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children.” What does this mean for the children?

As with an adult intimate partner, everyone would agree that physical abuse of a child is unquestionably unacceptable. In a home where violence occurs, a child may be injured accidently in the chaos of a fight or by trying to protect the victim. For children, however, simply witnessing domestic violence has an emotional impact similar to the psychological trauma of actually being the victim themselves.

“Children in homes where domestic violence occurs may experience cognitive or language problems, developmental delays, stress-related physical ailments, and hearing and speech problems.” These will manifest themselves in school with “problems with concentration, poor academic performance, difficulty with peer interactions, and more absence from school.” [Women’s Rural Advocacy Programs, www.letswrap.com/dvinfo/psych ]

There is also a generational legacy to domestic violence. According to a 2003 Psychology Today article (ID 2888), in a study of 500 families over a 20 year period, children who suffer family violence are at risk of perpetrating domestic abuse themselves once they reach adulthood. Children, particularly boys, may come to associate this type of behavior as an acceptable part of a romantic relationship.