Domestic Violence Research Paper

The current domestic violence research paper covers the issue of domestic violence. It describes the most vulnerable victims, namely children. The paper discusses the effects of abuse on the psychological development and wellbeing of a child. Some outcomes of domestic violence are provided in the paper.

What Is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is a physical, psychological, or emotional abuse (sometimes all the three issues are combined) of a person carried out by a family member with whom a victim has close relations. Even though a great number of conducted research has a focus on women abuse in the family setting, men and children can fall victims to aggressive behavior and violence as well. What is more important, being a victim of domestic violence, a child experiences difficulties doing many things in life. Constant abuse influences their wellbeing, psychological and emotional state, relationships with others as well as social activity.

The domestic violence research paper emphasizes that the concept of family violence has a wider meaning than just displaying aggressive physical behavior. It should be stated that experiencing emotional and psychological abuse or witnessing it can have a negative effect on the development of a child as well. When children regularly see how their parents abuse each other, their health and psychological wellbeing are at risk. Nowadays, the victims’ reactions on abuse complicate the estimation of the spread of domestic violence. Some researchers state that violence within a family constitutes 27% of all violent crimes. Nevertheless, the actual percentage is higher since many victims do not report on being abused. Some of them prefer to keep the problem secret being ashamed of their relatives while others start blaming themselves for the alarming situation. As a result, the victims try to forget the unpleasant experience without understanding that the situation can repeat once and again. Therefore, the problem of domestic abuse requires more careful consideration.

The current domestic violence research paper recognizes that those people who were the victims of domestic violence in childhood show aggressive behavior towards their peers. In addition, their performance may be poorer than performance of their colleagues. What is more, being subjected to abuse at the early stages of life, individuals can engage in bullying (cyberbullying) carrying out the role of either victim or bully. Therefore, suffering from physical, psychological, or emotional abuse as well as witnessing any form of violence distorts the child’s perception of reality. Constant aggressive domestic behavior effects brain development as well. The recent studies show that there are continuing changes in the brain of a young victim. In addition, there are some changes in neural system development. Some researchers claim that those children who suffer from domestic abuse from birth to 2 years experience a setback. Such children are more aggressive and impulsive as well. What is more, they are prone to violence. Females who were the under aged witnesses or victims of family abuse confess that they have difficulty in developing close and friendly relations within their own families. In addition, such girls have a lower level of devotion to relatives in particular and people in general. It should be mentioned that repeated exposure to abuse leads to depression and stress, lowers person’s self-esteem and dignity. The recent findings confirm that there is a direct connection between experiencing domestic violence and having problems with interpersonal communication. Moreover, those individuals who witnessed marital violence in childhood tend to family abuse in adulthood. They can hurt their own children or be the victims of abuse from the partner’s side. Thus, the exposure to domestic violence leads to negative outcomes in life.

How to Deal with Domestic Violence

The domestic violence research paper states that there are many strategies for dealing with family abuse. Ignoring and forgetting is one of the most common methods of coping with the problem. Though many children and their parents choose this strategy, it is believed to be ineffective. The majority of mothers who suffered from domestic violence do not realize that their children witnessed it and what consequences their offspring might face. The victims of aggressive behavior as well as aggressors do not like or want to discuss the incidents. As a result, there is a lack of awareness of the situation; the parties of the violent conflicts are not able to assess the feelings of each other. However, there is an opinion that mothers have to discuss the cases of domestic abuse with their children and explain them that aggressive behavior and violence are unacceptable. Since parents often deny the fact that children are greatly influenced by the home atmosphere, children have to resort to some coping strategies to overcome the difficulties caused by domestic violence. When wishing to protect themselves or their relatives, children do their best to make themselves feel safe in the family. In order to avoid lethal outcomes, every person should have an opportunity to report the cases of domestic violence or discuss the abuse incidents with professionals. The significance of providing children with expert psychological help should not be underestimated.

The current domestic violence research paper concludes that experiencing emotional, physical, or psychological abuse occasionally or regularly, the victim is at risk of having serious health problems. The effects of domestic violence are long lasting and have a negative impact on child’s brain, development of central neural system, and psychological state. In order to avoid tragic outcomes, effective coping strategies as well as professional assistance should be provided to the victims of domestic abuse.