EXPOSING CHILDREN TO FAMILY VIOLENCE: PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPLICATION
Abstract
Family violence affects all who are exposed: perpetrators, victims, and the children who witness the violence. It is important to understand how complex family violence is to effectively understand its psychological effects on children. This work examines the experiences of children who witness family violence and its psychological implication or impacts on their behaviours, adjustments, and development. This work will explore the question: What is the psychological implication of exposing children to family violence? Analysis revealed three interrelated themes from these work. These themes centred on the psychological implication of exposing children to family violence and included: 1) Symptoms in cognitive and emotional effects; 2) Implications on behavioural systems: internalizing behaviours and externalizing behaviours; 3) Multi-level perspectives. The findings show that children’s exposure to domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) is extremely prevalent and those children are considered at a higher risk for problems in holistic development. The findings also highlight the importance of identifying the effects of family violence on children.
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