Children witnessing domestic violence

Abstract

Purpose

Witnessing domestic violence is a common experience among children, but has only recently been recognized as a specific form of abuse. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the researchers who have examined the experience of children witnessing domestic violence.

Design/methodology/approach

Research papers related to witnessing domestic violence and published in leading academic journals in the UK and abroad from January 1980 to September 2018 were identified and reviewed.

Findings

Although there were some inconsistent findings, it was found that most of the available research suggests that witnessing domestic violence is prevalent among children and recognized today as a form of abuse. Results from analyzed studies identified high rates of psychological problems among children exposed to witnessing domestic violence. Furthermore, there is evidence that a variety of child and parent characteristics are important to more fully understand what influences have on exposure children’s witnessing domestic violence. In the end, this data emphasize that to be successful, access is essential to the places where the risks for the occurrence of this form of abuse is most evident, in the family, working with the child and the parents/caregivers.

Originality/value

This is an original paper which draws on different research about children witnessing domestic violence.

Citation

Dodaj, A. (2020), "Children witnessing domestic violence", Journal of Children's Services, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 161-174. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-04-2019-0023