Cycle of Violence With Children:

Cycle of Violence With Children: Impact of Trauma From Witnessing Family Violence

The objective of this work is to conduct a thorough literature review of the cycle of violence with children.

The hypothesis proposed in this research is that because of the prevalence of family violence in African-American families, medical professionals, and specifically nurses should be carefully and thoroughly trained in the identification of childhood trauma due to exposure to violence in order to implement treatment early enough in the life of the child for the child to avoid the many negative outcomes associated with family violence experiences so that the child has the opportunity to overcome the negative affects associated with witnessing violence as a child.

Literature Review

The work of Dalpaize (2006) entitled: "Breaking Free, Starting Over: Parenting in the Aftermath of Family Violence" states that the "emotional terrorism that infuses violence between adults" does not only affect the adults who are victims but also greatly impacts the lives of children who are witnesses to the violence. A parent can identify the child who is traumatized by family violence and then help the child attain recovery and a life of happiness. Dalpaize states that: "Safeguarding children, building trust and breaking the cycle of violence..." are goals that the caring parent may help their child in attaining. (2006).

The work of Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch, and May (2005) entitled: "Predicting Adult Risk of Child Physical Abuse from Childhood Exposure to Violence: Can Interpersonal Schemata Explain the Association?" published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology states that those who experienced maltreatment or violence exposure while children are at an increased risk of experiencing violence as adults which is stated to be a phenomenon which has received the label the 'intergenerational transmission of violence." (Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005) the work of Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May reports a study conducted in order to explain why some who receive childhood exposure to violence become those who commit acts of childhood violence in their adult years. Two types of factors were considered which are identified as first the examination of "the number and kinds of childhood violence experienced influenced adult risk of child physical abuse and whether "adult risk of child physical abuse perpetration was stronger among those who had experienced abuse at the hands of their parents than among those who had been abused by non-parental adults." (Ibid) Third examined was whether individuals who had received exposure to "multiple forms of childhood violence were at increased risk of adult child physical abuse perpetration relative to those exposed to only one kind of violence." (Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005) the study also questioned whether risk might be linked to the beliefs and expectations of the individual in terms of interpersonal relationships and interpersonal schemata. (Ibid, paraphrased) There are various and diverse perspective in terms of theory that agree upon the internalized representations that exist in the individual of internalized relationship representation which are stated to serve as 'mental models of the self and others in interpersonal contexts (Bowlby, 1973; Hill & Safran 1994; Horowitz, Eells, Singer & Salovey, 1995; Main & Kaplan, 1985; Ogilvie & Ashmore, 1991; Ryle, 1985; Shirk, 1998, Stern, 1985; as cited in Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005) Individual expectations concerning self has an impact on relationship interpersonal interaction and behavior cognition. Milner (1993) is noted as stated that the "social information processing model accords interpersonal schemata a central role." (Ibid) it was hypothesized by Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005 that the risk of child abuse perpetration would "be higher among individual's with negative rather than positive interpersonal schemata." (Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005) These authors state that evidence exists that those who abuse and those who do not abuse differ in dimensions relevant to internal models of self, such as self-esteem and self-efficacy and that expectations in relation to child behavior differs as well and yet not much evidence exists in relation to as to whether the two groups differ in "generalized model of others.

Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005 state that a study was conducted in form of an attachment sample of 48 mothers who were single findings that risk of child physical abuse was associated with insecure adult attachment. Negative modeling of self and of others appears to "increase CPA risk." Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005 the study of Moncher as reported by Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005 states that the study was conducted specifically in order to test whether: "the valence of interpersonal schemata predicts CPA risk." (Kaplow, Saxe, Putnam, Pynoos, and Lieberman, 2006) There is support for the argument that states that mediation or transmission of violence in the life of a child might assist in making the identification of which of these victims of violence during their childhood or more or less likely to "perpetrate the intergenerational transmission of violence (moderation). (Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005) Simply stated, would those who had experienced or witnessed violence developed negative modeling of self and if so did the individual thoughts, emotions and behaviors within the relationship." (Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005) Study findings state that there is an existing association between having been exposed to violence as a child and a negative interpersonal schemata. The findings of this study claim to not only document "the intergenerational transmission of violence" but as well to extend it and "in several respects." (Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005) it is not so much that violence was experienced in any specific form but that it was experienced at all that lends to findings that childhood violence predicts adult violence. (Merrill, Thomsen, Crouch and May, 2005; paraphrased)

The work of Kaplow, Saxe, Putnam, Pynoos, and Lieberman (2006) entitled: "The Long-Term Consequences of Early Childhood Trauma" is a case study and discussion of a child whose mother was shot and killed while the child was nineteen months of age by the child's father who killed himself two weeks later. The child was noted as having separation anxiety and timidity or reluctance to discuss either of her parents. Further the child believed that someone was going to 'get her'. It was revealed in the study that the child did in actuality remember the traumatic event due to her extreme reaction to the sight of blood and particularly her grandmother's red coat. One year after her mother's death at a fireworks display when the fireworks began being lit the child screamed "Stop shooting my Mommy!" Drawings of the child alarmed the child's kindergarten teacher and in fact the treatment has been ongoing for over fifteen years. Study shows that children who experience violence early in relation to the memory of childhood may affect the child in ways that are either verbally or situationally accessible memories. The phenomena known as perceptual narrowing is one that is experienced by infants as young as the age of two months and which demonstrates that an adult can be outperformed on a memory or perceptual task by a child only six months of age. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) is linked to childhood trauma and documented in many studies. Differential diagnosis is stated by Kaplow, Saxe, Putnam, Pynoos, and Lieberman (2006) to be necessary for children who are diagnosed with PTSD as children who have forgotten some trauma are "even more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD or mood or behavioral disorder because they appear to be acting out of context, and they have no way of explaining their own behavior." Kaplow, Saxe, Putnam, Pynoos, and Lieberman, 2006)

Hurley (2006) in the work entitled: "Internalized Other Interviewing of Children Exposed to Violence" published in the Journal of Systematic Therapy states that the attachment processes within a family is disrupted when violence is present and as well the neurobiological development of children is impacted resulting in the lessening of their abilities in emotional and behaviors." (Hurley, 2006) Children who witness violence experience a range of developmental problems in the areas of cognition and emotion and as well in terms of outcomes. (Hurley, 2006; paraphrased) This work speaks of the individual "emergent self" in a child's infancy. (Hurley, 2006)

In the work of Henry, Sazajnberg entitled: "My Life is a Longing; Child Abuse and Its Adult Sequelae: Results of the Brody Longitudinal Study from Birth to Age 30" that case examples in study results show "the effects of child abuse on the emerging personalities of children..." which includes "less mature psychological defense mechanisms, more insecure mental representations of attachment to their parents..." As well as "a lower Global Assessment of Functioning with their well-treated counterparts." (Ibid) These children are generally depressed and anxious. One child stated: "My life is a longing" when speaking of her life and its' sadness. (Ibid)