The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children: Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2020

By Patricia Chapin, NAS Sigonella Fleet and Family Services

Your home environment impacts your children not only now, but also much later—physically, emotionally, and in their future relationships.

One collaborative study between the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Preventative Medicine in San Diego surveyed over 17,000 people. The outcomes of this Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study show a powerful relationship between our emotional experiences as children and our physical and mental health as adults, as well as some major causes of adult mortality in the U.S.

Researchers studied a variety of negative emotional experiences children may experience. Some were the result of chronic stressors in the environment such as yelling and screaming in parental arguments or having a family member with physical or mental disabilities. Others were as severe as witnessing domestic violence or experiencing child abuse.

The impact of witnessing domestic violence can have both short term and long term consequences for children. How significantly they are impacted depends on a number of factors: their age and developmental level, their temperament, the degree of violence that they observe, their proximity to the violence that is occurring, their exposure to previous trauma, and their interpretation of the lethality of what they witness.

Short term reactions to witnessing domestic abuse may be similar to experiencing any other trauma symptoms. These reactions can include feeling jumpy or nervous, being easily startled, reliving images, sensations, and memories of what occurred, avoiding reminders of the event, feeling numb or shutting down, trouble sleeping and nightmares, and acting out what they observed with other children in their play. Long term reactions can include a higher risk of developing depression and anxiety, substance abuse, self-destructive and suicidal behaviors, criminal or violent behavior, and difficulty developing and maintaining relationships.

Children who witness ongoing domestic violence in their families may be living in a constant state of fear and uncertainty. Many parents believe that their young children are less affected by the violence that is occurring in the family, but research has shown this not to be the case, especially in terms of brain development. Younger children, between the ages of one and three, may be more dramatically affected at a physiological level in their brain development. To learn more please view “First Impressions Exposure to Violence and a Child’s Developing Brain located at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=eEEVKDW5NDc. This 15 minute video featuring Dr. Bruce Perry, MD is a must see for professionals and parents alike.