Assignment Question
When it comes to the topic of Domestic Violence and the toll it takes on your mental health, most of us will agree that this can and will affect you in a host of detrimental ways. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how to address and prevent domestic violence effectively. While some are convinced that stricter laws and harsher punishments are necessary to combat this issue, others maintain that education and support systems are vital in breaking this cycle. Today, domestic violence remains one of the severe significant health issues affecting people globally and has adverse psychological and physical effects on those who have experienced it (Doroudchi et al. 1). As future leaders, children need to develop and grow to their fullest potential in a favorable and safe environment. Sadly, previous research suggests that children are the victims of both indirect and direct domestic violence, which has detrimental psychological effects that hamper a child’s personal, behavioral, and social development (Doroudchi et al. 1). Children make up a significant part of society and family; thus, over three million children are at greater risk of experiencing domestic violence at their homes as victims or witnesses. Women are usually the victims of domestic violence more than men, and due to their dependence on one another, victims of violence will stay in their abusive environments in the hopes that the situation will change or improve. The paper will also reflect on the research and what I learned. Dorouchi et al. conducted a systematic review to investigate the psychological consequences of domestic violence and how children are being exposed. This study focuses on reviewing eighteen peer-reviewed articles that were published between 2000 and 2020 and that evaluate the psychological effects of intimate partner violence on children. Domestic violence was reported to be manifested in various forms: sexual, psychological, and physical. The study findings show a direct correlation between domestic violence and adverse effects on children’s behavior and psychological status. Children exposed to intimate partner violence, whether emotional or physical, suffer different mental, psychological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral complications that range from mild to severe and can be short or long-lasting. It is even more than established that victims of DV suffer mental health or psychological complications such as anxiety, low self-esteem, PTSD, self-inflicted injury, depression, the risk of abusing substances, and the likelihood of suicide. This study revealed that children are indirect victims of DV and negative behavioral and psychological symptoms like externalizing and internalizing behaviors such as aggressiveness and lower levels of IQ and depression. Direct impacts of DV on victims include living with poor health, homicide deaths, and declined hearing.
Children who witness or are victims of DV show decreased social activities and are affected by the mentioned psychological and mental issues. Such children also have declined educational and school performance because of their affected intellectual and verbal abilities. Furthermore, Dorouchi et al. discovered that children who are witnesses of intimate partner violence are usually less happy with their social activities. Therefore, it is recommended that school counselors and clinicians should monitor and careen, which may manifest as emotional and behavioral disturbances. Exposure to DV in children resulted in juvenile delinquency, aggressive behavior, affective and interpersonal psychopathy features, and later on, psychopathic characteristics. Adverse effects such as public ridicule, humiliation, and mental depression affected children’s cognitive growth. Children may have an increased desire to engage in self-abuse, high-risk games, and suicide and have poor hygiene as well as become nervous with fatigue signs. This article provides insight into the direct and indirect effects of DV on children; thus, it is helpful in this research. Wake and Kandula conducted a cross-sectional review to ascertain the prevalence of domestic violence against children and women during COVID-19 and the factors that are associated with it. The study found that the incidence of DV against children and women had increased drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a severe and critical problem that has been occurring for many years all over the world, domestic violence has become worse during the lockdown as a result of the global pandemic. The authors established a direct correlation between the pandemic and domestic violence against children and women, where the pandemic increased the chances of DV. Several factors connected to intimate partner violence against children and women include marriage, being younger than 30 years, being a housewife, having a husband aged between thirty-one and forty years, and experiencing both sexual and physical victimization. What’s more several risk factors for domestic violence, including job losses, depression, control of wealth in the family, spending more time with close family members, technology, substance abuse or addiction (drug or alcohol), lockdowns, financial instability, and quarantine.
Evidence from the research indicated that domestic violence was linked to suicide attempts and depressive symptoms in both children and women. The violence against children was found to increase drastically mainly because household stress intensified as family members had more time to remain in close contact. The authors concluded that domestic violence against children and women is a shadow pandemic that grew during the pandemic; thus, there is a need for a global collective effort to prevent it. This article highlights evidence on the prevalence and factors associated with DV against children and women, with little focus on the impacts of DV; hence, it is worth including in this research. Walters, Andrienne C. “The Forgotten Children: Victims of Domestic Violence, Victims of the System.” 2019 file:///C:/Users/Admin/Downloads/5._20Walters.pdf Walters (286) explores the effects on victims of domestic violence, specifically children who witness DV but are usually forgotten and end up being victims of the justice system. Children who may not have been abused and have witnessed domestic violence suffer the same distress level as those who experience violence or abuse by their parents. The author established that since children who witness DV do not appear ass of abuse, they often do not get help for the trauma they encounter. Kids who see DV may develop externalizing and internalizing behaviors like acts of aggressiveness because of their inability to confront their his, her, their, etc. trauma. rn, they land in puerile earning label problem children. Delinquency cycles may be thrust into children’s lives and persist throughout adulthood. Walters found that over five million children witness different forms of DV, whether emotional, physical, economic, sexual, or psychological threats or actions in their homes annually. These factors manipulate, frighten, hurt, intimidate, humiliate, terrorize, blame, injure, isolate, threaten, wound, or coerce someone. Domestic violence acts are usually by parents, siblings, former or current intimate partners, children, and other relatives. We witnesses of violence often develop a sense of anxiety and fear regardless of whether they hear about the violence from another room, witness it directly, or see the aftermath. Many of the fears and worries that arise in children who witness DV are revealed by externalizing behaviors like disruptive and aggressive behavior or internalizing behaviors like depression and anxiety in different contexts.
Children from abusive homes run away often and have higher risks of drug or alcohol abuse and PTSD. Walters (290) discovered that witnessing DV is, in fact, the single most reliable indicator of juvenile delinquency and, later in life, adult criminal behavior. This article provides strong evidence of domestic violence’s impact on child witnesses, thus supporting the research indefinitely. Rawlings, Samantha and Siddique, Zahra. “Domestic Violence and Child Mortality in the Developing World.” 2020 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obes.12357 Rawlings and Siddique developing nations’ Demographic and Health Surveys to inspect the impact of intimate partner violence on child mortality. The authors took the initiative first to investigate conditional connections between child mortality and the experience of violence. The authors found that the odds of a child dying within five years, a year, or thirty days of birth are 1.0, 0.7, and 0.4 times higher for children whose mothers had (ever) experienced physical abuse. The authors established comparable findings when investigating associations with violence experienced in their research; however, they are no longer statistically significant. The study revealed that pregnancy loss is strongly linked to violence, indicating that the actual effect on mortality is higher than estimations derived from live births. The authors found that an association between child mortality and domestic violence is mediated by the mother’s breastfeeding and smoking habits. The study also shows a direct impact of domestic violence on victims, including living with poor health, homicide deaths, and declined income. The authors of this article take a different approach while investigating the effects of DV on children, mainly as a cause of death in children below five years, hence providing strong evidence on the topic. Fogarty, Alison, et al.
“Emotional-behavioral Resilience and Competence in Preschool Children Exposed and Not Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence in Early Life.” International Journal of Behavioral Development, vol. 97–106, no. 2, 4 Mar. 2019, doi:10.1177/0165025419830241. Fogarty et al. investigate emotional-behavioral competence and resilience in kids at the preschool level who have been both unexposed and exposed to DV early in their lives. The study aimed to determine characteristics linked to favorable emotional-behavioral outcomes in children aged four years old who had been exposed to intimate partner violence early. The study findings show that impaired emotional-behavioral functioning is directly linked to DV. Despite this, a lot of children, 38%, displayed emotional-behavioral resilience when exposed to domestic violence. The study identified no exposure to DV, the mother’s ability to return to study or work, and maternal physical well-being as promoters of child resilience. The authors concluded that it is vital to prioritize mothers’ access to employment and physical well-being to promote positive outcomes for their kids. This article highlights the significance of early intervention of IPV, which will enable children to have emotional-behavioral resilience, aligning with the research topic. 1. Is the topic manageable? Is it too narrow or too broad? 2. Does the opening paragraph introduce the topic in an interesting manner? 3. Is the thesis clear? 4. Is the paper logically organized? Does it have a firm sense of direction? 5. Are the paragraphs developed, unified, and coherent? Are any too short or too long? 6. Which important points require further illustration or evidence?