Effects of Violence in

the Lives of Children

Daniel Hertzberg & Anna Ryder
Definitions

- Exposure to Domestic Violence can include:

- Hearing a threat, even when physical violence does not occur
- Hearing or seeing a physical altercation or assault
- Handling the aftermath → calling the police, going to a hospital, handling any fallout, etc.
- Being aware of the tension in the home contributes to the effects on children

- Domestic Violence can be included under the umbrella of Intimate Partner Violence
- Also includes dating violence, sexual violence, and partner abuse
- All of these can be traumatizing to witnessing children

- Chronic violence
- Repeated, consistently perpetuated violence over time
- Poses even higher risks for witnessing children
Statistics
- 3-4 million children between the ages of 3-17 are at risk for exposure to domestic violence
- Children who witness Domestic Violence are at an increased risk for being abused themselves

- 95% of domestic violence cases involve women victims with male partners

- Rural-Urban-Suburban Divide
- Rural → More likely to stay in the relationship, less likely to disclose or seek help, and more likely that drugs
and/or alcohol play a large part in the abuse
- Urban → More likely to report via police instead of a lawyer, more resources are available, higher rates of
partner homicide occur in disadvantaged counties.
- Suburban → Veil of Silence; elevated social status, education levels, and income contribute to higher rates of
self-blame, shame, and a lack of familial support.
- Systems Warfare: utilizing legal and financial systems for further mainpulation
Instilling Fear
Children Exposed to Domestic Violence - Effects
Many children demonstrate increased depression,
anxiety, self-harm, a deficient ability to learn, poor
concentration, and a generalized irritability.

Case 1
● Zoning / numbing out
● Blaming themselves
● Brain development
 Adverse Effects on Brain Development
Child-Witnessed Domestic Violence

● Midbrain

● Limbic System

● Cortex / Prefrontal Cortex

● Corpus Callosum

● Cerebellum
Attachment & Behavior Issues
 Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Child Abuse
and Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence
Waves of study
1. 457 children=average age 4
2. Four years later=average age 8
3. Ten years after adolescents=average age 18
*416 were reevaluated in adolescence

Four groups
A. No-violence exposure group.
B. Domestic violence exposure only group
C. Child abuse only group
D. Exposure to domestic violence and child abuse group “double whammy phenomenon”
Attachment & Negative Behavior Results
● Overall were less attached to parents in adolescence than
those who were not exposed, contributing to negative
behavior in adolescence.

For the domestic violence only group (compared to no exposure)

● Odds of felony assault were 1.8 times greater
● 2.58 times greater for minor assault
● 1.84 times greater for delinquency (theft, disorderly conduct…)
● 3.20 times greater for status offenses (running away from
home, drinking alcohol, getting suspended…)
Negative Coping Mechanisms
 You become what you are exposed to!

● These behaviors are formed as the child absorbs the stress and anxiety.

What helps?
● Seeing how to deal with stress in productive/ effective ways-Learning from you
● Talking about feelings
● Always can create new neurons by seeing good relationships

*I see how my baby and her behavior is affected by

what she is exposed to.
Long-term Effects - ACEs Study

- ACEs History
- Conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the CDC in California from 1995-1997 with over 17,000 participants
- Physical exams were given along with a confidential 10-Question survey

- Adverse Childhood Experiences

- Within the first 18 years of life
- Abuse → physical, emotional, and sexual
- Household challenges → Mother treated violently, household substance abuse, mental illness in the household,
parental separation or divorce, and criminal household member
- Neglect → emotional or physical
- Many states have adapted to the BRFSS (Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System)
- Adapted from the original ACEs Study
 ACEs - National Information
- Major Findings:
- Of the original 17,737 participants:
- 36.1% had a score of 0
- 26% had a score of 1
- 15.9% had a score of 2
- 9.5% had a score of 3
- 12.5% had a score of 4 or more
- As the number of ACEs increases so does the risk
for:
- Alcohol abuse/alcoholism
- COPD
- Depression
- Coronary Heart Disease
- Ischemic Heart Disease
- Liver Disease
- Risk of Intimate Partner Violence
- Smoking
- Asthma
- Autoimmune Disease
- Frequent Headaches
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Stroke
ACEs - Pennsylvania Information

- 33 states, plus D.C. has completed a study since 2009

- Adapted the BRFSS ACEs model

- Pennsylvania Information Poster

- Highlights:
- Used the BRSFF format in 2010 to survey the whole state
- 53% of PA Adults had experienced at least 1 ACE
- Black people were more likely to experience an ACE than white people
- Out of work or unable to work adults were more likely to have experienced at least 1 ACE than working
PA adults
What can we do?

- Further education toward Trauma-Focused Therapies, and creating trauma-sensitive environments in

schools
- Pittsburgh resources:
- Crisis Center North - Hotline: 412-364-5556
- Women Against Abusive Relations (WAAR) - 412-818-3225
- Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh - 412-687-8005
- Bethlehem Haven - 412-471-0155
- Network of Hope - 412-321-7100
- Center for Victims - 866-644-2882
- Western PA Referral Sources
- Know your resources, recognize the signs, and provide compassion
 Play Therapy
Plato (429–347 B.C.) who observed, "you can discover more about
a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation"

Domestic Violence
Shelter Research
 References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016, April 01). Violence Prevention. Retrieved December 04, 2017, from
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/index.html

Children and Domestic Violence. (2010, May 24). Retrieved December 04, 2017, from http://www.nctsn.org/content/children-and-domestic-violence

Domestic Violence Roundtable. (n.d.). Domestic Violence in the Suburbs. Retrieved December 04, 2017, from http://www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org/domestic-violence-
suburbs.html

Domestic Violence Roundtable. (n.d.). The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children. Retrieved December 04, 2017, from http://www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org/effect-on-
children.html

Edwards, K. M. (2014). Intimate Partner Violence and the Rural–Urban–Suburban Divide. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse,16(3), 359-373. doi:10.1177/1524838014557289

Kot, S., Landreth, G. L., & Giordano, M. (1998). Intensive child-centered play therapy with child witnesses of domestic violence. International Journal Of Play Therapy, 7(2), 17-
36. doi:10.1037/h0089421

Prewitt, E. (2014, October 6). State ACE survey reports. Retrieved December 04, 2017, from http://www.acesconnection.com/g/state-aces-action-group/blog/state-ace-survey-
reports

Sousa, C., Herrenkohl, T. I., Moylan, C. A., Tajima, E. A., Klika, J. B., Herrenkohl, R. C., & Russo, M. J. (2010). Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Child Abuse and Children’s
Exposure to Domestic Violence, Parent-Child Attachments, and Antisocial Behavior in Adolescence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(1), 111-136.
doi:10.1177/0886260510362883

Tsavoussis, A., Stawicki, S. P., Stoicea, N., & Papadimos, T. J. (2014). Child-Witnessed Domestic Violence and its Adverse Effects on Brain Development: A Call for Societal
Self-Examination and Awareness. Frontiers in Public Health, 2. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2014.00178