When Women are Beaten, What Happens to the Children?

Abusers of Women Physically Abuse Children

• As many as 70% of men who batter women also batter their children, making the presence of spouse abuse
  the single most identifiable risk factor for predicting child abuse. Physical abuse results not just in the
  obvious physical injuries, but also in many of the same effects which form the aftermath of psychological maltreatment. [See below]
  · Physical injuries include: skeletal injuries, neurological and ocular damage, broken bones, third-degree burns,
  bruises, lacerations, contusions, gastric or intestinal perforations and intestinal obstructions. · "Over 60% of all abuse fatalities and over 50% of all cases of permanent disability occur among
  children under 2 years of age, primarily from head injuries." [Italics added.]
  
  
  
• "Repeated and chronic exposure to interpersonal or family violence in childhood (either as a victim or a witness) has been associated with:
  · chronic or delayed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
  · adolescent and adult substance abuse,
  · a wide variety of child, adolescent and adult behavioral disorders,
  · depression,
  · suicidality,
  · self-mutilation (i.e., cutting),
  · an intolerance for or constant search for intimacy, and
  · diagnoses of multiple and borderline personality disorder."
  
  

Abusers of Women Sexually Abuse Children

• "Female children are at elevated risk of sexual assault in the context of domestic violence;
  half of women who were sexually abused by their fathers in childhood report that their incestuous fathers
  were habitually violent against their mothers and siblings." The effects of child sexual abuse include:
  · "The symptom most commonly reported in adults who were molested as children, both in the clinical and nonclinical literature, is depression."
  · "[I]nfantile aggression, hyperactivity, antisocial behavior, aggression, social withdrawal, sensitivity, fear, inhibition,
  academic disability, immaturity, learning disability, normal irritability neurotic behavior, psychotic behavior,
  somatic behavior and ... [a] lack of socially valued interpersonal skills."
  · Concentration problems, character personality style (e.g., nice or pleasant disposition,
  too anxious to please), nervous/emotional problems, depression, behavioral regression, body
  image/self-esteem problems, fear, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
  · "[S]ymptoms of muscle tension, gastrointestinal and genitourinary difficulties, emotional reactions, runaway behavior, and other behavior problems."
  · Anxiety attacks (54%), feelings of isolation (64%), nightmares (54%), difficulty sleeping (72%), insomnia (43%), dissociation or "spacing out" (41%),
  dizziness (21%), and chronic muscle tension (66%)."
  · 88% of the incest survivors studied report depression, 56% have experienced suicidal ideation, 28% made suicide attempts, and 19% engaged in some form of self-mutilative behavior.
  · Incest survivors exhibited "gastrointestinal problems, pains, and headaches (50%), eating disorders (53%), and dissociative symptoms (61%)."
  
  
• Long-term consequences of incest mentioned by incest survivors:
  · 38%: Increased negative feelings, attitudes, or beliefs about men in general;
  · 20%: Increased negative feelings about herself, including low self-esteem, self-blame, self-hatred, shame, guilt, and negative body image;
  · 17%: Increased negative feelings such as fear, anxiety, depression, mistrust;
  · 14%: Negative impact on sexuality; · 12%: Increased worry regarding the safety of others;
  · 12%: Negative impact on relationships with others;
  · 11%: A change in behavior associated with the abuse (for example, a cessation of showing physical affection, or avoidance of particular relatives);
  · Increased likelihood of being separated or divorced at the time of the interview.
  
  
• Long-term effects of incest on self-esteem:
  · 100% of survivors reported feeling like "damaged goods" or irreparably altered.
  · 97% showed evidence of poor self-esteem, 81% felt unattractive, and 78% felt "contaminated" by their abuse.
  · Virtually all had a sense of being branded, marked, or stigmatized by their victimization.
  · 60% of survivors believed that they had a predominantly negative self-image.
  · 73% reported moderate to severe feelings of isolation and alienation.
  · 87% reported that their "sense of self" had been moderately to severely damaged.
  
• Debra Boyer's study of young women who had become pregnant as adolescents,
  conducted with D. Fine and S. Killpack in Washington state between 1988 and 1992, found
  that 62% of participants "had experienced contact molestation, attempted rape,
  or rape prior to their first pregnancy. ... Overall, 55% of the sample had been sexually molested.
  · On average, the respondents were 9.7 years old at first molestation, with 24% reporting that their first such experience occurred at age five or younger. ...
  · 77% were molested more than once; 54% were victimized by a family member. ...
  · 44% of the total sample had been raped; 42% had experienced at least one attempted rape.
  · The average age at first rape was 13.3 years for victims, 22.6 years for perpetrators.
  · One half of the respondents who had been raped were raped more than once. ...
  · The young women who had been sexually victimized prior to their first pregnancy had begun `voluntary' intercourse earlier and were more likely to have used drugs and alcohol."
  

Abusers of Women Psychologically Maltreat Children

"[T]here is mounting evidence that psychological maltreatment per se is associated with the development
of the severest forms of behavior disorders and developmental delays in children." Psychological maltreatment
"may be more destructive than other forms of child abuse and neglect, [and] is probably more prevalent."

• Psychological maltreatment is defined as "a concerted attack by an adult on a child's development
  of self and social competence, a pattern of psychically destructive behavior" which takes five forms:
  · Isolating: refusing to allow interactions or relationships with peers or adults outside the family.
  · Denying Emotional Responsiveness: being detached and uninvolved, denying a child physical and verbal signs of
  interest and affection such as eye contact, hugs, stroking, kisses, and talk.
  · Spurning/Rejecting: treating a child as worthless, denigrating the child's thoughts or feelings, calling the child "stupid."
  · Terrorizing: includes verbally assaulting, bullying and frightening a child; forcing a child to observe verbal or physical
  violence directed toward loved ones; threatening to physically hurt, abandon or kill.
  · Corrupting/Exploiting: stimulating a child to engage in destructive antisocial behavior,
  making the child unfit for normal social experience; using a child for one's own advantage or
  profit; e.g., keeping the child home as a servant or surrogate parent in lieu of school attendance;
  encouraging or allowing a child to participate in sexual contact with an adult or in the production of pornography.
  
  
• Behavioral and physical disorders associated with emotional maltreatment include:
  · Failure-to-thrive or less extreme (but still severe) deficits in growth or development;
  · Habit disorders (such as head banging, sucking, biting, rocking);
  · Conduct disorders (such as antisocial or destructive behavior);
  · Neurotic traits (sleep disorders, speech disorders, and inhibition of play);
  · Psychoneurotic reactions (hysteria, obsession, compulsion, phobias, and hypochondria);
  · Extremes of behavior (excessive compliance and passivity or overly aggressive and demanding behavior);
  · Overly adaptive behavior (inappropriately adult or inappropriately infantile);
  · Developmental lags (physical, mental, or emotional);
  · Sudden and severe drops in the child's school performance, emotional appearance or general functioning;
  · Attempted suicide.
  

Forcing a Child To Observe Verbal or Physical Violence Directed Toward Loved Ones

• Some of the documented effects on the millions of children who witness abuse of a parent include:
  · Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder: increase in fears or worries, feelings of guilt,
  behavioral disturbances including acting out or withdrawal, regression to the behaviors of an earlier stage of development, and denial.
  · Headaches, stomach aches, diarrhea, ulcers, intestinal difficulties, asthma, enuresis, and sleep difficulties: insomnia, sleepwalking, and nightmares.
  · Personality problems: shyness, depression, anxiety and "a deficit in abilities commonly associated with the concept of empathy."
  · Conduct problems: disruptiveness, impulsivity, and irritability.
  · School-related problems: erratic attention, poor performance, distractibility and school phobias.
  · Higher likelihood of attempted suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, running away from home, engaging in
  teenage prostitution and other delinquent behavior, and commission of sexual assault crimes.
  · Both boys and girls have been known to participate in the beating of their mother after having witnessed such behavior over many years.
  · Acting out violently with parents (53%), acting out violently with siblings (60%), with peers (30%), and with teachers (33%).
  · 79% of violent children in institutions reported that they had witnessed extreme violence between their parents, whereas only 20% of the nonviolent offenders did so.
  · Of the families of children who had attempted suicide, 65% reported that children witnessed physical violence between their parents.
  · "Boys who have witnessed abuse are three times more likely to hit their wives than those who have not. The sons of the most violent fathers
  may have a rate of wife beating 1,000 [times] greater than the sons of non-violent fathers."