Children's
Exposure to IPV and Other Family Violence
Exposure to any form of intimate partner violence or other family
violence can have various detrimental effects to children and is
associated with a host of mental health effects that include symptoms
of postraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety (Kitzman 2003). In
addition, various research has supported the notion that exposure to
serious IPV as a child can lead to offending as an adult later in
life. However, despite the well documented negative effects that
exposure to IPV can have on children, surprisingly little information
is available about how often such exposure occurs in households in
the United States. It is because of this lack of information that
researchers from the OJJDP decided to conduct the National Survey of
Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV). The NatSCEV is the most
comprehensive nationwide survey of the incidence and prevalence of
children's exposure to violence to date. The purpose of this research
was to gain information that is important to determine the extent of
the problem of exposure to IPV, assess if/what services are needed,
and to establish a baseline for evaluating the progress of any future
programs that become implemented.
The most important and general finding from the NatSCEV is that
children in the United States are exposed to unacceptable rates of
violence in their homes and by their families. Researchers discovered
through the data that roughly 1 in every 9 children were exposed to
some form of family violence in the past year alone. In addition, 1
out of 15 children were exposed to IPV that occurred between their
two parents/caregivers which are supposed to be their “role
models”. That comes out to an alarming approximately 8.2 million
kids in the United States that were exposed to family violence in
2008. The data in the survey also found that 1 in every 4 children
was exposed to at least form of family violence in their lifetimes.
This figure is also very disturbing. Most of the youth exposed to
family violence that participated in the survey, including 90% that
claimed to have been exposed to IPV, said that they saw the violence
as opposed to hearing it or encountering it through any other form of
indirect exposure. This is an important statistic due to the fact the
direct exposure is the worst kind and could possibly have a greater
deter-mental effect than indirect exposure. Not surprisingly, males
were more likely to perpetrate the incidents that were witness than
females. Males were identified as perpetrators in 78% of all IPV
incidents and the most severe violence had the highest percent of
male perpetrators (88%). The NatSCEV results found that 68% of the
youth that participated in the survey claimed to have only witnesses
violence by the males in their households. In addition, father
figures were the most common perpetrator of family violence and IPV.
They accounted for somewhere between 61% and 71% of all incidents
that involved males. However, the survey also shows that assaults by
mothers or other family members was also present. Mothers accounted
for roughly 10% of incidents and other females comprised about 24%.
The information form the survey on children's reaction to violence by
one parent to another indicates that large numbers were not simply
passive observers. Almost 50% of the youth yelled at their parents
during a violent episode in order to get them to stop and 25% called
for help from a outside source at least one time during the incident.
In addition, almost identical figures were found in incidents that
involved parental assaults on a sibling and violence between other
household teens and adults (Strauss 1992).
In conclusion, the data that was obtained through the research of
the NatSCEV is of great importance due to the implications that it
has for future policy makers and practitioners along with the fact
that it should be able to open the eyes of United States families to
just how prevalent children's exposure to violence in their
households actually is.
Works Cited
- Kitzmann, K.M., Gaylord, N., Holt A., and Kenny , E. 2003. Child witnesses to domestic violence: A meta-analysis review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 71(2): 339-352
- Straus, M.A., and Gelles, R.J. 1990. Physical Violence in American Families: Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers
It may seem obvious that children exposed to such violence for so long by the people that care for them are bound to be more violent, but it is mind boggling how much of an effect it really has on these children. The fact that it is proven that children exposed to these violence are far more likely to become criminals or commit crimes should open every parents eyes and make them think twice before they lash out at each other. They are setting a very damaging example for their children.
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