Photo By Kim Farcot | Relationships should be safe. If your partner’s behavior is putting you at risk,...... read more read more
NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Italy (Oct. 30, 2023) - Your home environment impacts your children not only now, but also much later —physically, emotionally, and relationally.
In a collaborative study between the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente's Dept. of Preventative Medicine in San Diego, 17,000 people were surveyed; the outcomes of this study show a powerful relationship between our emotional experiences as children and our physical and mental health as adults, as well as the major causes of adult mortality in the U.S.
These negative emotional experiences may be as severe as witnessing domestic violence or experiencing child abuse, or may also be the result of chronic stressors in the environment. Stressors such as yelling and screaming in parental arguments, or having a family member with physical or mental disabilities.
The impact of witnessing domestic violence can have short term and long term consequences for children. How significantly they are impacted depends on a number of factors: their age and developmental level, their temperament, the degree of violence that they observe, their proximity to the violence that is occurring, their exposure to previous trauma, and their interpretation of the lethality of what they witness.
Short term reactions may be similar to experiencing any other trauma symptoms. These reactions can include feeling jumpy or nervous, being easily startled, reliving images, sensations, and memories of what occurred, avoiding reminders of the event, feeling numb or shutting down, trouble sleeping and night-mares, and acting out what they observed with other children, or in their play.
Long term reactions can include a higher risk of developing depression and anxiety, substance abuse, self-destructive and suicidal behaviors, criminal or violent behavior, and difficulty developing and maintaining relationships.
Children who witness ongoing domestic violence in their families may be living in a constant state of fear and uncertainty. Many parents believe their young children are less affected by the violence that is occurring in the family. Research has shown this not to be the case, especially in terms of brain development.
Younger children, between the ages of one and three, may be more dramatically affected at a physiological level in their brain development. To learn more, view “First Impressions Exposure to Violence and a Child’s Developing Brain, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEEVKDW5NDc. This 15 minute video featuring Dr. Bruce Perry, MD is a must see for professionals and parents alike.
To learn more about Domestic Violence, for assistance, or to find out how you can get involved you can access information:
https://www.militaryonesource.mil/familyrelationships/relationships/domestic-abuse-help
https://www.dvawareness.org
https://ncadv.org
https://www.thehotline.org
| Date Taken: | 10.30.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.30.2023 06:40 |
| Story ID: | 456753 |
| Location: | IT |
| Web Views: | 254 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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