The Effects on Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

Abstract

Domestic violence (DV) is a prominent issue in the United States. One in four women and one in nine men have experienced severe physical violence, sexual violence and/or stalking in the U.S alone.(Office of Violence Against Women, 2023). Children can be exposed to this violence in their daily lives, and it can have detrimental effects on their physical, mental, and behavioral health, and their futures. Effects can include higher risks of self-harm, bullying or being bullied, violent or aggressive behaviors in childhood, teen pregnancy, dropping out of school, less secure attachments, post-traumatic stress symptoms, asthma diagnoses, cortisol dysregulation, anxiety, depression, antisocial behaviors, and a higher risk of being in a violent relationship themselves.(Howell, 2016, Horner 2023, Oguzturk et al., 2019, Clarke et al., 2020, Adhia et al., 2019, Nicholson et al., 2018). It is critical that healthcare teams and nurses specifically are taught signs and symptoms of exposure to violence to prevent these harmful effects and are trained to screen pediatric patients for exposure. It is also recommended nurses know the most up to date information on mandated reporting and their individual state laws. Recommendations include more longitudinal studies to be developed to study how exposure to violence can impact a child for the rest of their adult lives, and development of training programs for healthcare teams.