Transcript Impact_of_Family_Violence_on_Children

Impact of Family Violence on Children
Children and Family Violence (FV)
Terminology
Terminology reflects growing understanding of the issue and the
complexity and diversity of children and young people’s experiences.
Earlier term:
 children who ‘witness’ violence
More recently:
 children exposed to violence
 In Australia, the terms ‘experiencing,’ ‘affected by,’ and ‘living with’
violence have increasingly been used
 This language acknowledges that children are not passive onlookers
or unaffected bystanders.
Some Common Myths
Common myths about children and trauma include:

Children are too young to be aware of what is going on around them

The effects of a major incident will be short-lived

Children are resilient and will naturally recover by forgetting the
experience, getting over it or growing out of it

A lack of an obvious behavioural response means the experience
has not had a negative impact.
Facts

Children of all ages are affected by FV. They witness emotional and
physical trauma, they experience the states of mind and emotions of
their parents and they often experience the effects of a ‘helping
system’

The helping system can either facilitate recovery from the trauma or
further perpetuate it.
Children’s Experiences of Family Violence
Children experience FV in myriad ways. Most research has looked at
physical abuse and has found:
Physical harm
 Violence may begin during a woman’s pregnancy

A woman may be assaulted while holding an infant or when trying to
protect her child

A child or young person may be injured when they try to intervene to
protect a parent.
Children’s Experiences of Family Violence
Observing violence and experiencing its effects

Children may directly observe violence, or they may hear it or see
the consequences of it (bruising, distress, damaged property)

Children also live with the effects of family violence on the health
and parenting capacity of the parent who is the victim

Children may feel (or be made to feel) responsible for the violence

Children may live in fear of violence

Children of separated parents may feel at the centre of the conflict

Children’s lives and routines (friends, pets) may be disrupted

Secrecy and shame may pervade their lives
Impact on Children

In the research there is most consensus about the short to medium
term effects of behavioural and emotional problems, compared to
other children

There is less consensus about longer-term effects. Exposure to FV
tends to go hand in hand with other developmental risk factors such
as child abuse and neglect, substance abuse and poverty
NB: Effects are complex and varied, as are research methodologies;
therefore it is difficult to generalise.
Impact on Children

Some say there is a cycle of violence, i.e. Inter-generational
transmission of violent behaviour

However, there is some consensus that most children exposed to FV
do not become either perpetrators or victims of FV in their adult
relationships

It is important to acknowledge that there are many causes of
violence in the community.
Understanding the Effects

Exposure to FV impacts on children in each of the developmental
stages, from pregnancy, infancy, school age through to adolescence

Differing responses are exhibited at different ages and
developmental stages

Some commentators talk of the effects as post traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). Such stress typically overwhelms a person’s
coping abilities and may manifest as extreme fear, helplessness
and/or horror

The traumatic responses of children witnessing the abuse of their
parent are likely to be intensified if the perpetrator is known to them

Trauma in childhood is thought to be especially harmful because it
overwhelms the child’s developing sense of self and coping
mechanisms.
Children Living with Family Violence
When a child is not helped to deal with and ‘integrate’ the impact of FV,
behaviour can become separated from emotion and emotion separated
from the event.
If this separation occurs, the child is left with impaired pathways for
understanding aggressive behaviour and frightening information.
In these circumstances, a child’s responses are likely to ‘break through’
in seemingly disconnected ways. Symptoms include:





Chronic tension
Arousal (agitation)
Numbing
Avoidance
Intrusive thoughts about the violence (or ‘playing out’ the emotions of the
violent context).
Children Living with Family Violence

A child’s trauma reaction can be resolved or intensified according to
the immediate and longer-term responses they encounter

The quality of responses that the child receives in situations of FV
strongly influences how that child will deal with the experience.
Types of Conflict
The types of adult conflict most distressing to children are those that
lack resolution and include high levels of hostility, physical violence and
threats to leave. Important findings include:

Intensity of conflict is a predictor of children’s adjustment

A single exposure can result in trauma

The strongest likelihood of distress occurs when there is a
combination of exposure to domestic violence and direct
maltreatment by parents

Covert conflict – unspoken tension, resentment – is linked with
internalising behaviours (depression, anxiety and withdrawal)
Types of Conflict

Children are also affected by the informational content of parental
conflict (i.e. what is said about the other)

Children’s distress is reduced according to the degree to which the
conflict is resolved

Children are less distressed by non–resolution when the parents are
optimistic about ultimate outcomes of the conflict.
Responses
Children from violent homes are more likely than children from
non–violent homes to demonstrate the following responses:

Clinical disturbance in emotions and behaviour

Heightened aggression, impulsiveness and anxiety (even as young as
3–5 years)

Restricted range of contacts with peers and people outside the family

Endorsement of the idea that men have the right to be the most
powerful and privileged member of the family.
In addition to these observable behaviours, there can be other layers of
damage that can have long term consequences. e.g. the ability to think
about and process experience is affected.
Mediating Factors
Much research has been directed at identifying factors that mediate the
effects of children witnessing violence:

Being a victim of child abuse appears to lead to a more severe
impact

The victim’s ability to parent effectively and provide a nurturing and
safe environment for the children appears to lessen the impact. This
can be enhanced by social support.
Mediating Factors

Factors that contribute to children’s resilience (coping capacities)
would appear to include:
 support within the family (e.g. a parent)
 support outside the family – social networks, especially a reliable
and capable adult within walking distance
 attributes of the child.
N.B. Danger: In emphasising children’s resilience, the focus can be shifted
away from the responsibility of the perpetrator. It is important to
acknowledge that resilience is not ‘innate’ but developed socially. The
violence needs to stop and effective responses from significant adults
within the family and helping system are needed.
What makes the Event Traumatising for a Child?
Some factors that influence the impact of a traumatic event include:

The proximity to the event broadly corresponds with the impact it
has on the child

Existing conditions, such as ill health, history of trauma (current
trauma can re-awaken impact of past trauma)

Relationship to victim. Children are more vulnerable if they know
the victim or if they are worried about the safety of someone close to
them

Impact on parents – this profoundly influences the meanings that
children ascribe to trauma and their ability to integrate the
experience.
Short and Medium Term Symptoms of Trauma
Short term:
 Dazed, confused, regression

New fears and insecurities

Preoccupation and/or frequent talk and play about the incident

Withdrawal, sadness, irritability, anger, moodiness, demanding
behaviour

Increased comfort seeking

Separation problems
Short and Medium Term Symptoms of Trauma
Medium term:
 Constant need for attention
 Frequent fighting
 Seeking of pain
 Possessiveness towards toys
 Withdrawing
 Poor school performance & peer relationships
 Mood changes
 Stealing, lying
 Depression
Long Term Symptoms of Trauma






Unable to progress in a flexible, productive manner. Dominated by
anxious recollection of the trauma
Anxiety disorders, phobic and obsessive responses
Avoidance e.g. in denial, emotionally absent, distant, lacking energy
for living and learning
Substance abuse, conduct disorders in adolescence
Delinquency, aggression
Limited means for dealing with interpersonal conflict and intimacy
NB. It is important to note that trauma caused by ‘natural disasters’
often brings with it a high level of community support. However, trauma
caused by FV is surrounded by taboos.
Psychological First Aid

After a critical incident a child’s sense of safety is re-established
through re-engaging with the “protective cocoon”. This sense of
safety within a cocoon is usually provided by parents, significant
others, family and community

It is important to find out who these people are in the child’s life and
brief them to ensure that they are able to support the child. The
professional worker also needs to establish a comforting presence
for the child.
Early Goals of a Response to Children who have
Experienced Trauma







Begin the re-establishment of trust and predictability
Reduce the child’s engagement in the incident and establish
distance from the event
Help children name and understand their experience
Identify and discuss relevant facts
Give information, clarify errors and ambiguities and help the child
understand the ‘status’ of the incident
Manage connection with other adults sensitively
Assist parents to deal with their own traumatisation and be aware of
the children’s needs.
Early Goals of a Response to Children who have
Experienced Trauma




Support coping skills and validate difficulties
Screen for children needing comprehensive/therapeutic intervention
Inform relevant support networks
Monitor progress.
It is important to keep in mind the difference between psychological
first-aid and clinical de-briefing.
The focus should be on respectful situational actions that promote
safety and establish contexts where violence is rejected as an option.
Interviewing Traumatised Children
Helpful approaches include:

Starting where the child is at (rather than with what you want to
know)

Following the child’s direction (encouraging them to tell their story in
their own ways)

Knowing that resistance is understandable (not construing it as
negative behaviour or taking it personally)

Being careful about re-traumatising or prolonging traumatic stimuli.
Screening for Specialist Treatment
It is useful to consider:

The quality of thought and reflection within the family about what the
child has experienced

The resources and capacities available in the child’s world for
assisting the child’s recovery

Ask: Is this enough now?