In her article Violence at home can cause kids future health problems, published on June 19th 2014, Holli Lebowitz Rossi writes about the link between violence at home and future health problems among children. Rossi states those children who are exposed to or witness violence at home, incarceration of a parent, physical or psychological abuse and violent death among many other issues are more prone to developing future health problems such as obesity, heart problems or even diabetes. Rossi states further that these children may even develop psychological issues such as depression and anxiety. She cites a research published on the journal Pediatrics that had been carried out on the topic, which identified that these children develop a genetic marker which is responsible for these psychological and health problems in the future lives of children. In the study of about 80 kids ranging between 5-15 years who had been exposed to or experienced family related violence, the results revealed that violence played an important role in the health problems among them. Rossi writes that the more adverse childhood events a person experiences, the greater the risk of a health condition he or she may be experiencing at the moment. Rossi’s article contributes to the ever growing body of knowledge related to violence and child development.
The article mainly addresses the psychological issue of domestic violence and child development. Although cases of domestic violence and abuse have been on the decline over the years, it is important to note that there are places that these cases are still rife. Domestic violence and abuse is mainly attributed to the various psychological problems that many people in marriages might be facing or experiencing. Although many factors come to play with regards to domestic violence such as financial factors, emotional dynamics of individuals in the marriage or family play a key role in it. The issue is one of the greatest challenges facing many families and without proper solutions and understanding between the individuals, relationships always collapse. As a result, it has become a sensitive psychological issue over the years. Children develop as a result of a number of factors including their surrounding and what they go through. A child’s environment is very important to how he or she will grow up to be. A child’s health and psychological stability is shaped with the events that he or she undergoes. As a result, domestic violence is an issue that greatly affects child development and can easily lead to psychological and health problems in the later life of those children who experience it.
The article by Holli Lebowitz Rossi plays an important role in creating awareness to the masses on the dangers of violence at home to child development. Many people might not have the knowledge on how disagreements or fights at the home might affect their children in future. It provides a perfect opportunity to educate individuals already in marriage and the would-be married individuals to avoid domestic violence at all costs to ensure a healthy life for their children in future. Many disagreements in homes usually lead to violence, either physical or psychological, which affect the all individuals in that home. At a time when people resolve to fighting and abusing each other as a means to resolve their differences, rather than resolve them amicably, the article provides an insight on how child development is greatly affected by such events at home. A child growing up in an environment that is peaceful, caring and loving is bound to have a healthy future as compared to a child whose childhood is filled by cases of abuse on either of the parents or people close to him or her. A child exposed to domestic violence experiences trauma that may lead to psychological issues such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression among others. Hence, the article is important in educating people on the benefits of ensuring a child is raised in an environment that is free off violence and abuse.
A number of studies in psychology have been published on the effect of domestic violence on children’s health, emotional well-being and psychological functioning. The children who witness domestic violence have been the subjects of very many psychologists all over the world. It has become increasingly important to know how these children progress in their future lives after having troubled childhoods. Many of such studies have all come to the conclusion that violence in the home has a negative effect on the future general well-being of a child. Violence, as it has been identified by a number of researchers, is a pervasive force in the lives of children in many parts of the world. In most cases children have been victims of violence or have witnessed violence in their own homes. Violence is an end result of emotional instabilities among individuals in the society. It is a public-health and a psychological problem. Children, in particular, are the most vulnerable to the effects of violence. Besides causing injury to these children, violence takes a toll on the more subtle topics such as cognitive, emotional, behavioral and social functioning. Violence affects the children eve if they are not the direct victims but even if they have a close relationship with the direct victims. With regards to violence leading to health problems, there is a little body of knowledge available. There has been a broad acknowledgement across the board that the children who experience or witness violence stand the risk of psychological, behavioral, social and health problems. However, the empirical basis for these findings has always not been recognized.
A key study carried out by Margolin & Gordis (2004) sought to find out exactly the effects of violence on a child’s emotional, behavioral and social functioning. The research clearly supported the premise of the article by Rossi. The researchers found out that children are exposed to different forms of violence that include child maltreatment (which includes neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse), aggression between parents and the violence in the community to which they may be victims or witnesses. The effects of violence on children are much more severe in the children who observe or experience. The study revealed that the experience of severe forms of aggression such as beatings can be traumatic to the children and can affect their key developmental processes. The effects of exposure to violence can be short term or long term according to these researchers. Aggression, delinquency, depression, anxiety, health-related problems and sleep-related problems are the short term effects of exposure to violence at this tender age (Margolis & Gordis, 2). Specifically, the researchers noted that the exposure to family or community violence leads aggressive behaviors among the children. According to the social learning theory, children learn from their surroundings and the events that are happening at that time. They would tend to emulate what the people close to them are doing or what they observe the community members doing.
Exposure to violence or abusive behavior was also found out to lead to anxiety and depression among the students. A vast amount of literature supports this notion given that a child may interpret the violence at home or at school to mean that the world is unsafe and insecure. A child may also grow up thinking that he or she is unworthy of protection from anybody and hence the likelihood of anxiety and depression among them. With such an interpretation, the child may have the feelings of helplessness which may lead to negative perceptions of the world and the various events happening in the world. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic stress symptoms are the consequences of exposure to violence given that they are linked with the impairment of social or behavioral functioning. The degree with which exposure to violence may lead to PTSD mainly depends with the severity of the violence and whether the child was a witness or a victim. It was also found out that violence in the family and community led to lower cognitive abilities and low academic performances. This can mainly be attributed to its impacts on the psychological functioning of the children. For instance, it would be difficult for a student with depression or PTSD to concentrate in class and produce a stellar academic performance. The study also highlighted the fact that exposure to violence at an early age increases the likelihood of an adult being violent. This can be attributed to the psychological distress and PTSD the individual might be having as a result of early exposure to violence (Margolin & Gordis, 4).
It is evident that Rossi’s article had been backed by scientific findings. The study by Margolin & Gordis (2004) concluded that indeed exposure to violence led to health and psychological problems. Violence affects the normal functioning of a child and as a result may affect his or her cognition, feeding habits or even emotional capabilities. Children exposed to violence either as victims or witnesses are more prone to internalize some of the behaviors they observe such as aggression. They are also bound to internalize some of the behaviors which would lead to psychological problems such as depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. Social and academic abilities also become impaired as a result of exposure to violence. With regards to the health of the children, a stressed or depressed child may adopt unhealthy lifestyles as a way of relieving some of the stress or depression. This would ultimately affect his or her health which leads to health problems such as obesity and diabetes. The premise of Ross’s article is highly valid as researches carried out on the same issue have found out that there is a high relationship between exposure to violence and health/psychological problems. It is for this reason that the article’s premise is highly valid. It is obvious that future research on the same topic would reveal similar results as the ones discussed in the article.
Works Cited
Margolin, Gayla, and Elana B. Gordis. "Children's Exposure to Violence in the Family and Community." Current Directions in Psychological Science. 13.4 (2004): 152-155. Print.
Rossi, Holli L. "Violence at Home Can Cause Kids Future Health Problems." Parents News Now RSS. N.p., 19 June 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. http://www.parents.com/blogs/parents-news-now/2014/06/19/safety/violence-at-home-puts-can-cause-kids-future-health-problems/
