The effects of domestic violence on kids

[peanuts]

PTSD, Other Disorders Evident in Kids Who Witness Domestic Violence
Eve Bender
http://tinyurl.com/2un8c

Young children are the invisible victims of domestic violence, and
they often sustain emotional damage that lasts long after the abuse
stops.

Children who witness domestic violence are especially vulnerable to a
wide range of developmental and psychiatric problems as they grow
older, according to Graeme Hanson, M.D., a clinical professor of
psychiatry and pediatrics and director of residency training in child
and adolescent psychiatry at the University of California, San
Francisco (UCSF).

"Domestic violence has significant negative effects on children's
emotional, cognitive, social, and behavioral development," Hanson told
attendees at APA's annual meeting in New York City last month.

As many as 10 million children a year are exposed to domestic
violence, Hanson said. Children who witness domestic violence may have
twice the rate of psychiatric disorders as those who do not witness
violence in the home, he added.

The multitude of mental health and developmental problems arising from
witnessing domestic violence includes increased aggression, phobias,
insomnia, poor self-esteem, poor academic performance, and decreased
problem-solving skills, Hanson said.

With prolonged exposure to violence at home, children can also develop
symptoms related to posttraumatic stress disorder, such as emotional
numbing, avoidance of reminders of the abuse, and obsessing about a
violent event.

Children who witness domestic violence are often caught in a bind,
Hanson explained. "They may be terrified at what they see, but the
very person to whom the child would turn-the mother-is often
emotionally unavailable because she is trying to deal with the abuse,"
he said.

Hanson pointed out that studies by Alicia Lieberman, Ph.D., a
child-development specialist and an associate professor of psychology
at UCSF, show that children who witness violence in their home express
a great deal of anger at their abused mothers. Identifying with the
abuser is a common defense mechanism in children who are either abused
or who witness abuse at home.

In families in which abusive fathers have been taken into custody,
children may idealize them or "miss the good parts of dad," Hanson
noted. The fact that the father has been removed from the home may
also spark fear in children that their mother will soon be gone as
well. "As a result, these children are at increased risk for
separation anxiety."

Lieberman has studied and implemented a therapy that aims to resolve
conflicts in the parent-child relationship and create a setting in
which the mother is better able to facilitate the child's development,
Hanson noted. Lieberman studied 45 mother-child pairs in which mothers
had severed their relationship with the abusers. The intervention
lasted once a week for one year, and Lieberman found that 60 percent
of the children had increases in IQ scores and a reduction in PTSD
symptoms, among other evidence of improvement, Hanson said.

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[Tono]

peanuts wrote:

> PTSD, Other Disorders Evident in Kids Who Witness Domestic Violence
> Eve Bender
> http://tinyurl.com/2un8c
>
> Young children are the invisible victims of domestic violence, and
> they often sustain emotional damage that lasts long after the abuse
> stops.

I wonder if similar emotional damage results from verbal abuse between
the parents? I would guess it does.

Tono

[rokot...@laurel.edu]

Even though child do suffer during a domestic violence but the mother is the one who gets to deal with all the violence since she is the one who is being abused from her partner.

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