What effect does witnessing violence have on children and their development?
Children are affected in all arenas of development by witnessing violence: emotionally, socially and in terms of cognitive or learning abilities. Often a child’s ability to concentrate, focus and carry out their tasks in school may be compromised. Also, children who grow up in home where there is domestic violence are at significantly increased risk of becoming a direct victim of violence—through intervening or being caught in middle. Can such traumatized children heal? Yes, absolutely, and I think it’s important to say that children respond in a range of ways. Some children are affected more than others. That has to do with many factors, including temperament, the support a child has in her environment and whether it’s a chronic or single episode. I treated an 8-year-old boy who witnessed several assaults on Mom by Dad, and who was referred to us because of problems concentrating. He talked in his sessions about how worried he was for his mother’s safety and his mixed feelings about b
