What behaviors do children who have witnessed domestic violence exhibit?
Infants: Injury to the body, poor health, fretful sleep pattern, lethargy, physical neglect, vaginal or rectal discharge (often associated with sexual abuse), and excessive crying. Toddlers: Injury to the body, frequent illness, shyness, withdrawn behavior, low self-esteem, reluctance to be touched, difficulty in preschool or childcare, poor speech development, separation difficulties, and excessive fantasy in play. School-Age Children: Injury to body, frequent illness, psychosomatic complaints, hitting, stealing, lying, nightmares, eating disorders, repetitive self abuse, nervous disorder, lack of motivation, poor grades, depression, need to be perfect, withdrawal, attention-seeking, sophisticated knowledge of sex, drug/alcohol abuse, regression, protective mother, assuming parental role with younger siblings and difficulty with siblings. Teenagers: Injury to body, loss of childhood, “perfect” child or “caretaker”, helplessness, anger at the abused parent, identification with the aggr
