EFFECTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN
The third factor that requires investigation
is the effect of violence on the children. Children living in homes where there
is violence between adults are two to three times more likely than other children
to be abused (Jouriles, *320 Murphy,
& O'Leary, 1989; McCloskey, Figueredo, & Koss, 1995; Straus & Smith,
1990). Even if they are not the direct targets of the violence, the children
suffer as witnesses to aggression between their parents (Berry, 1996). Children
who have witnessed domestic violence present a variety of emotional factors,
sense a lack of control over their life circumstances, and experience feelings
of hopelessness and helplessness. Children from violent families may experience
depression, anxiety, and an increase in somatic complaints, or they may externalize
their distress through aggression and delinquency. Sibling relationships may
be compromised by family violence, and intersibling aggression may result from
prolonged exposure to violence (Moore et al., 1990). Peer relationships may
be problematic, and these difficulties, if left untreated, may contribute to
further personal adjustment problems.
Children from violent homes are at greater
risk for experiencing severe forms of corporal punishment and intense verbal
aggression from parents than are children from nonviolent homes (Jouriles &
LeCompte, 1991; McCloskey et al., 1995; Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980).
In addition, mothers, who are typically the primary caregivers post separation,
may experience depression if they are victimized. This may disrupt their ability
to attend to and monitor the behaviors of their children (Jouriles, Barling,
& O'Leary, 1987). A thorough investigation of the children's and caregivers'
responses to the violence may produce recommendations for treatment of the children
and the caregiver and may be incorporated into the report to the court. Such
recommendations may have a significant impact on the postdivorce adjustment
of the children.
Although witnessing violence between one's
parents is associated with poorer adult psychological and social functioning
(Henning, Leitenberg, Coffey, Turner, & Bennett, 1996), it is not clear
that there is a direct, linear relationship between witnessing violence and
diminished adult psychological and social functioning. Recent research has focused
on variables that may mediate the effects of witnessing parental violence on
short term and long term development and functioning. These variables include
conflict resolution strategies that do not expose the child to verbal aggression
and conflict, and perceived parental caring and support (Henning et al., 1996).
Parenting capacity is clearly an area to consider when assessing the impact
on the children of witnessing parental violence.
REFERENCES
Achenbach, T., & Edelbrock, C. (1991).
Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist 4/18 and 1991 Profile. Burlington: University
of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.
Adams, S., & Powell, A. (1995). The tragedies
of domestic violence: A qualitative analysis of civil restraining orders in
Massachusetts. Boston: Office of the Commissioner of Probation, Massachusetts
Trial Court.
American Bar Association. (1994). The impact
of domestic violence on children: A report to the president of the American
Bar Association. Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic
and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Appel, A. E., & Holden, G. W. (1998). The
co occurrence of spouse and physical child abuse: A review and appraisal. Journal
of Family Psychology, 12(4), 578 599.
Berry, D. (1996). The domestic violence sourcebook.
Los Angeles: Lowell House.
Bolton, F. G., & Bolton S. R. (1987). Working
with violent families: A guide for clinical and legal practitioners. Newbury
Park, CA: Sage.
Custody of Vaughn, 422 Mass 590 (1996) (SJC).
Davis, L., & Carlson, B. (1987). Observation
of spouse abuse: What happens to the children? Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
2(3), 278 291.
Dawes, R. (1994). House of cards: Psychology
and psychotherapy built on myth. New York: Free Press.
Depner, C., Leino, E., & Chun, A. (1992).
Interparental conflict and child adjustment: A decade review and meta analysis.
Family and Conciliation Courts Review, 30(3), 323 341.
Famularo, R., Fenton, R., & Kinscherff,
R. (1993). Child maltreatment and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder.
AJDC, 147, 755 760.
Finkelhor, D. (1983). Common features of family
abuse. In D. Finkelhor, R. Gelles, G. Hotaling, & M. Straus (Eds.), The
dark side of families: Current family violence research (pp. 17 28). Beverly
Hills, CA: Sage.
Garrity, C., & Baris, M. (1994a). Caught
in the middle: Protecting the children of high conflict divorce. New York:
Lexington Books.
Garrity, C., & Baris, M. (1994b). Custody
and visitation: Is it safe? How to protect a child from an abusive parent. Family
Advocate, 17(3), 40 45, 88.
Gelles, R., Lackner, R., & Wolfner, G.
(1994). Men who batter: The risk markers. Violence Update, 4(12).
Goldstein, J., Freud, A., & Solnit, A.
(1979). Beyond the best interests of the child. New York: Free Press.
Grove, W., & Meehl, P. (1996). Comparative
efficiency of informal (subjective,
impressionistic) and formal (mechanical, algorithmic) prediction procedures:
The clinical statistical controversy. Psychology, Public Policy, and the Law,
2(2), 293 323.
Henning, K., Leitenberg, H., Coffey, P., Turner,
T., & Bennett, R. T. (1996). Long term psychological and social impact
of witnessing physical conflict between parents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
11(1), 35 49.
*333 Hinchey,
F., & Gavelek, J. (1982). Empathic responding in children of battered mothers.
Child Abuse and Neglect, 6(4), 395 401.
Irwin, J. (1996). Guidelines for judicial practice:
Abuse prevention proceedings. Boston: Massachusetts Trial Court.
Jaffe, P., Wilson, S., & Wolfe, D. (1988).
Promoting changes in attitudes and understanding of conflict resolution among
child witnesses of family violence. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science,
18, 356 366.
Jaffe, P., Wolfe, D., & Wilson, S. (1990).
Children of battered women. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Jaffe, P., Wolfe, D., Wilson, S., & Zak,
L. (1986). Similarities in behavioral and social adjustment among child victims
and witnesses to family violence. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 186
192.
Johnston, J. (1992). High conflict and violent
divorcing families: Findings on children's adjustment and proposed guidelines
for the resolution of disputed custody and visitation (Final report to the Judicial
Council of the State of California, Grant No. 891826). San Francisco: Judicial
Council of the State of California.
Johnston, J., Kline, M., & Tschann, J.
(1989). Ongoing postdivorce conflict: Effects on children of joint custody and
frequent access. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59(4), 576 592.
Jouriles, E., Barling, J., & O'Leary, K.
(1987). Predicting child behavior problems in maritally violent families. Journal
of Abnormal Child Psychology, 55, 155 173.
Jouriles, E., & LeCompte, S. (1991). Husband's
aggression toward wives and mothers' and fathers' aggression toward children:
Moderating effects of child gender. Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology,
59(1), 190 192.
Jouriles, E., Murphy, C., & O'Leary, K.
(1989). Interspousal aggression, marital discord, and child problems. Journal
of Abnormal Child Psychology, 57, 453 455.
Kempe, C., & Helfer, R. (Eds.). (1972).
Helping the battered child and his family. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott.
Kolbo, J., Blakely, E., & Engleman, D.
(1996). Children who witness domestic violence: A Review of empirical literature.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 11(2), 281 293.
Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc.
(1996, September). Custody and visitation issues in cases of domestic violence.
Seminar presented in Boston, MA.
McCloskey, L., Figueredo, A., & Koss, M.
(1995). The effects of systematic family violence on children's mental health.
Child Development, 66, 1239 1261.
Mnookin, R., & Weisberg, D. (1995). Child,
family, and state: Cases and materials in family law Boston: Little, Brown.
Mohr, J., & McKnight, C. (1971). Violence
as a function of age and relationship with special reference to matricide. Canadian
Psychiatric Association Journal, 16(1), 29 53.
Moore, T., et al. (1990, June/September). Research
on children from violent families. Canada's Mental Health, pp. 19 22.
Prodgers, A. (1984). Psychopathology of the
physically abusing parent: A comparison with the borderline syndrome. Child
Abuse and Neglect, 8(4), 411 424.
Radovanovic, H. (1993). Parental conflict and
children's coping styles in litigating separated families: Relationships with
children's adjustment. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21(6), 697 713.
Richters, J., & Pellegrini, D. (1989).
Depressed mother's judgments about their children: An examination of the depression
distortion hypothesis. Child Development, 60, 1068 1075.
Rosenberg, M. (1987). Children of battered
women: The effects of witnessing violence on their social problem solving abilities.
Behavior Therapist, 4, 85 89.
Straus, M., & Gelles, R. (Eds.). (1990).
Physical violence in American families. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
*334 Straus,
M., Gelles, R., & Steinmetz, S. (1980). Behind closed doors: Violence in
the American family. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Straus, M., & Smith, C. (1990). Family
patterns and child abuse. In M. Straus & R. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence
in American families. Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Strauss, M. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict
and violence: The conflict tactics (CT) scale. Journal of Marriage and the Family,
41, 75 88.
Trial Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(1994). Domestic violence visitation risk assessment. Boston: Author.
Wolfe, D., Jaffe, P., Wilson, S., & Zak,
L. (1985). Children of battered women: The relation of child behavior to family
violence and maternal stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
53, 657 665.
Zorza, J. (1995). Recognizing and protecting
the privacy and confidentiality needs of battered women. Family Law Quarterly,
29(2), 273 211.
Joseph C. McGill, LICSW, is a licensed independent
clinical social worker on the staff of the Child and Family Forensic Center
and an instructor in psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University
of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester.
Robin M. Deutsch, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist
and director of training in the Children and the Law Program at Massachusetts
General Hospital, Boston. She is an instructor in psychiatry in the Department
of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and
is in private practice in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Robert A. Zibbell, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist
in private practice in Framingham, Massachusetts. He is also an associate in
psychiatry with the Child and Family Forensic Center at the University of Massachusetts
Medical Center, Worcester.