Introduction
Domestic violence has negative consequences on the emotional, social, and academic functioning of the affected children (Lyon, 2013). Over the past few decades, practitioners, and professionals in the field of mental health have developed relevant treatment approaches and programs that focus on mitigating the negative repercussions of domestic violence on children. However, their efforts are often hindered by the privacy surrounding the instances of domestic violence because the affected households handle the situations as family secrets. According to Henry (2012), researchers and clinicians have published crucial descriptions of individual and group therapies for children who are widely exposed to domestic violence. The therapy approaches seek to promote open discussions about how domestic violence affects children, reinforce their relationships and bonds with non-abusive caregivers, and assist them to deal with the consequences and emotions associated with exposure to violence. The approaches also seek to help vulnerable children and their families to create living situations and relationships that are free of domestic violence. This paper examines how domestic violence affects the mental health of children.
How Domestic Violence Affects Children
Children have varied responses to their domestic violence experiences. A child may display psychopathology and adjustment problems while some children may not have significant mental health problems. Some of the factors that influence the effects of domestic violence on a child’s mental health include the temperament of the child, proximity to the acts of violence, the child’s age during the time of exposure, severity of the violence, and the whether there are adults who are capable of protecting and sustaining the child emotionally or not.
Past studies suggest that some of the symptoms that the children who experience domestic violence display include fear, anxiety, learning problems, sleep disturbances, aggressive behaviours and depression, and reduced social competencies (Craven, 2012). Children’s psychological and emotional responses such as the fear of losing of a parent, fear of death and intense terror underlie these problems. Children who are vulnerable to harrowing events that are related to domestic violence may feel that the world is a hostile, threatening, and unpredictable place, and some may feel helpless. Furthermore, children who are exposed to domestic violence may harbour feelings of guilt, rage, and may feel responsible for the abuse or violence that is occurring at home.
Identification and Assessment
Identifying the population of children who are victims of domestic violence or exposed to the vice is one of the challenges confronting individuals and organizations that try to address the issue. After identifying the children, the professionals should assess the children’s individual needs to determine whether they require mental health intervention as well as the services that are appropriate for a particular child or not (Harrison, 2011).
Identification
Children living in shelters for battered women and children whose mothers are trying to get community-based or legal assistance in coping with family issues constitute the most likely subgroup of children whose lives are affected by domestic violence (Harrison, 2011). However, this is just a mall section of the children who experience domestic violence. Some of the children are “hidden” within their families and may not be easy to identify. The children may experience feelings of guilt, shame, fear of repercussions, and divided parental loyalties, making it less likely for them disclose their experiences to other people. The mothers who suffer from domestic violence may maintain the secrecy based on the fears that disclosing the situation may lead to further negative effects of their safety and that of their children.
Research indicates that identifying children that are exposed to domestic violence is a daunting task for the professionals (Harrison, 2011). For example, researchers who frequently interact with school children may not know how to interpret the problematic symptoms that the affected child is displaying. Such professionals may not be able to respond the problems that a child is facing at home. On the other hand, professionals, such as paediatricians, may not have the skills of screening for domestic violence and they may not ask questions about it. In cases where children are taken to mental health professionals based on problematic symptoms they are displaying, it is not routine for the professionals to screen for domestic abuse or violence. It creates a situation whereby professionals may not detect that a child’s exposure to domestic abuse or violence is contributing to their difficulties. Consequently, mental health professionals may fail to provide the right treatment because of their failure to determine the cause of the child’s problematic symptoms (Craven, 2012). Consequently, personnel in schools, mental health institutions, and other healthcare settings should develop screening guidelines and responses that should be implemented whenever a child displays symptoms associated with domestic violence or discloses exposure to acts of violence.
After identifying a child who is affected by domestic violence, professionals should assess the child and their family’s living conditions (Lyon, 2013). The child’s age should be considered during the assessment because it can influence the nature of symptoms the child is displaying as well as the child perceptions and functions. The other factors to be assessed include the child’s living environment, the influence of the child’s culture and ethnicity in shaping the concept of domestic violence, and the presence of grown-ups in the life of a child to provide the necessary emotional support.
Mental Health Interventions
Traditionally, mental health interventions were available in shelters that care for battered women or in health agencies that provide varied services to domestic violence victims (Schofield, 2009). In the recent years, however, there has been an increase in the number of programs established to serve these children. The trend is widely influenced by the realization that most children who witness domestic violence do not live in these shelters. Therapeutic interventions serve different purposes, which include fostering open discussions about the experiences of the children. Many professionals and parents also assume that a child should not be subjected to a process that makes them dwell on a disturbing occurrence or experience (Schofield, 2009).
The process of re-enacting and retelling a traumatic event within a setting of safe therapeutic relationships provides a healing experience and gives the children an opportunity to understand themselves as well as the world they live in better (Craven, 2012). According to Craven (2012), speaking openly and breaking the silence about acts of violence gives the children a chance to begin the process of emotional healing. The mental health interventions that are provided by therapists seek to help the children to understand and cope with the way they respond emotionally to domestic violence while also helping them to acquire positive behaviour patterns. Furthermore, the interventions seek to reduce the symptoms that children experience in response to abuse or violence. In some instances, the therapeutic approaches focus on helping the affected child, as well as the non-abusing parent, to associate the problematic symptoms they are experiencing to living in a violent environment. They are also taught on how to manage and reduce the symptoms (Henry, 2012).
The therapy approaches include individual or group therapy. Group counselling is an example of group therapy for children who have been affected by domestic violence. Conversely, individual therapy is widely based on the notion that children have varied responses and symptoms to acts of violence (Lyon, 2013). Individuals and organizations that provide facilitative services to the affected children are confronted by numerous challenges such as responding to intense emotional experiences of the children and working with the members of their family. They also face the challenge of gathering evidence of abuse by a parent or both parents. Regardless of the settings, therapists are encouraged to find a way of involving the non-abusing parent in the therapy process.
Conclusion
Overall, research suggests that children living in houses that are prone to domestic violence may suffer significant mental health problems. The secrecy veil that surrounds the problem of domestic violence makes relatively difficult for the concerned parties to identify the affected children. Most research studies addressing the impact of domestic violence on children’s mental health do not include controlled outcome studies that demonstrate the effects of the therapeutic approaches. Therefore, evaluative components of the programs should be designed to guide the future direction of this field. Some of the challenges that clinicians and mental health professionals face include dealing with intense and complex emotional experiences of the children as well as working with their families. The other challenges involve determining whether the affected children are also victims of neglect or abuse.
References
Craven, P. (2012). Freedom's Flowers: The Effects of Domestic Abuse on Children. Chicago: Rutledge Press.
Harrison, R. (2011). Child Abuse: A Guide for Teachers and Professionals. Cornwall: Polity Press.
Henry, L. (2012). Trauma & Survivor Syndrome: Effects on Children Who Witness Domestic Violence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lyon, J. (2013). Domestic Violence Advocacy: Complex Lives/Difficult Choices. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
Schofield, C. (2009). Mommy's Black Eye: Children Dealing With Domestic Violence New York: Prentice Hall Press.
