Children’s Witnessing of Adult Domestic Violence

Social service professionals are more frequently identifying children who witness adult domestic violence as victims of that abuse. This article expands common definitions of how children witness violence, and adult domestic violence in particular. Over 80 research papers were reviewed and a variety of behavioral, emotional, cognitive and physical functioning problems among children were found to be associated with exposure to domestic violence. Factors that appear to mediate the impact of witnessing violence, such as child gender, age, and time since last exposure to violence are identified. Concerns about research methodology are also raised. CHILDREN’S WITNESSING OF ADULT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Many people have suggested that family violence – at least to the degree it is observed today – is a recent phenomenon. Yet violence between intimates has long been a part of family life. It has been described repeatedly in religious and historical documents across many centuries, dating as far back as the Roman Empire (Davidson, 1977; Dobash & Dobash, 1979). Some have also argued that current levels of family violence reflect a break-down in the moral structure of the family (see Levine, 1986). This too is unlikely. Rather, as Gordon (1988) suggests, the “ebb-and-flow pattern of concern about family violence...suggests that its incidence has not changed as much as its visibility” (p. 2). Children who witness violence between adults in their homes are only the most recent victims to become visible. These children have been called the “silent,” “forgotten,” and “unintended” victims of adult-to-adult domestic violence (Elbow, 1982; Groves et al., 1993; Rosenbaum & O’Leary, 1981). Studies of archived case records from social service and governmental agencies provide ample evidence that violence has long occurred at levels similar to those measured today and that children are frequently present during violence incidents (Edleson, 1991; Gordon, 1988; Peterson, 1991; Pleck, 1987).