Social Learning Theory Children That Grew Up in Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence and Social Learning Theory

Domestic Violence on Children and Social Learning Theory

Domestic Violence on Children, Juvenile Delinquency and Social Learning Theory

Domestic Violence on Children and Juvenile Delinquency in the light of Social Learning Theory

This research paper includes and talks about the global issue of family or domestic violence experienced and observed by children. The first part defines and explains the domestic violence and child abuse. The second part explains the various forms of domestic violence that are prevalent in the society. Physical, emotional, economical and psychological abuses witnessed and experienced by the children are discussed in detail. Later, explanation of perilous physical and emotional effects of domestic violence on children has been given to understand their subsequent behaviors. The paper then talks about the factors relating to the juvenile delinquency in violence-affected children. In the last part of the paper, the principles and postulates of Social Learning Theory are used to present different behavioral models of the juvenile delinquents who experience family violence in their childhood. The paper ends with the conclusion about the necessity and duties of the society to facilitate and assist victims of domestic violence.

Introduction

Domestic Violence is a globally well-known predicament. It has been acknowledged as a worldwide problem on the basis that it affects the physical condition and welfare of the victims significantly. Domestic Violence can be described as the aggression, violence or brutality shown to or practiced on a 'near and dear' partner. In this case, both the abuser and the abused share the residence and live together. Women are thought to be the main sufferers of domestic violence. However, children are also exposed to domestic violence on a large scale (Jouriles, McDonald, Slep, Heyman & Garrido, 2008). A considerable number of women aged between 19 and 44 are killed after suffering continuous domestic violence. Most of these women have children who witness the most horrible violence that one can imagine (Underwood, 2006). In most of the cases, not only the woman but her child or children suffer from domestic violence from the hands of the male member of the house. It includes head-butting, beating, throwing objects, dragging along the street and even attacking with harmful weapons like knives etc. (Underwood, 2006).

Child abuse is the mistreatment or abandonment of children by disregarding them emotionally, physically or sexually. In most of the cases, parents are the abusers of their offspring. However, guardians and other sentinels accountable for the well-being and safety of children are also found maltreating them. Physical abuse includes beating, whipping and thrashing children groundlessly on petty and insignificant issues. Children are also used as a means of sexual fulfillment and gratification. They are raped, molested and used for pornographic purposes which damage their personalities everlastingly. Elders emotionally mistreat a child by abusing him/her in front of others. Other kinds of emotional abuse include scapegoating, unjustified punishments and usage of improper and abusive language on a regular basis. Negligence and carelessness regarding the children's education or health is also a form of child abuse. Exposure of unsafe and aggressive materials or smoking in front of a child can also affect a child psychologically. The mentioned are all forms of particular kinds of abuse that are seen and experienced by children who breathe and survive within the walls of domestic violence (Child Abuse, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009).

Child abuse is regarded as a problem that is increasing at a fast pace. Young victims are unfortunate to experience serious emotional and mental damages as a result of continuous abuse. Physical injuries can be seen but the injuries on the mind and soul cannot be glimpsed. There is no instrument that can measure the psychosomatic damage a child tolerates being a victim of domestic violence. Most of the children who belong to poor families are the victims of domestic violence (Child Abuse, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009).

Forms of Domestic Violence

The most imperative originator of child abuse and ignorance is the domestic violence (Jouriles, McDonald, Slep, Heyman & Garrido, 2008). There are a number of interrelated causes that instigate child abuse and ignorance. The factors that contribute are personality of the abuser or the child or the circumstances of the family. Researches show that usually the abuser was abused in his early phase of life. By abusing their own children, they seem to enjoy in taking revenge of what was done to them. In most of the cases, abusers were found to have a lack of knowledge, education and skillfulness that are required for bringing up a child. Thus, out of their gaucheness and tactlessness, they unnecessarily mistreat their children to teach them discipline and obedience. In this way, they ignore the fact that their children hate them and would be doing the same with the next generation of the family. Alcoholism and drug addiction are also a cause of becoming a terrifying abuser. It is also a biting reality that mentally or physically ill and disabled children become the targets of domestic violence more than the children who are physically and mentally fit and healthy. Household circumstances such as connubial friction, divorce or separation among parents, scarcity of financial means, joblessness and communal segregation are factors that catalyze the violent activities domestically (Child Abuse, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009).

1. Physical Abuse

Children growing up in an environment where domestic violence is common witness their mothers beaten by their fathers on a daily basis. They watch the brutal and cruel attacks of their fathers to harm their mothers physically. In many cases, when the woman was holding a child, the abuser hit her with an object without even realizing that the child could be injured too. Irrespective of the children's safety, men attacked and used violent ways to harm the woman when she was taking care of the children. Many children witnessed their fathers using weapons and objects or their fists or feet to injure their mother. The physical wounds women suffer includes broken bones, black-and-blue eyes and in severe cases, miscarriages. The physical abuses children suffer include spitting at them, making them eat raw items, dragging them down the stairs, twisting their ears etc. (McGee, 2000).

2. Emotional and Psychological Abuse

The abuser wears down the self-worth and self-assurance of children by abusing them psychologically and emotionally. He disparages and criticizes every action of the children. Instead of physical abuse, the abuser uses the systematic way of emotionally torturing the children. Such children lose their self-esteem and self-confidence completely as they are constantly humiliated, disgraced and dishonored. The most common emotional abuse of a child is to call him names. Some abusers make fun of the disabilities of a child. Showing unkindness to the child's pet, keeping the mother away from the child, threatening a child to send him away, not giving permission to play and depriving the child of sleep are other ways of abusing emotionally. Thus, it is very difficult for the children to find ways in order to cope up with the crushing behavior of the abuser. Most of the children seem to tolerate physical injuries but it is not an easy task for them to forget the injuries their hearts and souls were scarred with (McGee, 2000). The children not only suffer emotional damages themselves. They see their fathers embarrassing, mortifying and degrading their mothers. The abuser insults the mother in front of the children and blames her for everything. Constant threats of killing the woman and children are used by the abuser which keeps the victims remain in a state of fear and trepidation. Children growing in such an environment where they see their mother being constantly insulted by their fathers tend to develop emotional problems that permanently become a part of their lives.

3. Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is most commonly used by the ex-partners of the women. Most of the women who have been the sufferers of domestic violence reported that they were raped after the abuser abused them physically or emotionally (McGee, 2000). In some cases, children were unlucky enough to watch the molestation of their mother before them. One can imagine the psychological condition of a child who witnessed such a crushing-to-death incident. In houses where domestic sexual violence is experienced, the male members tend to rape their daughters, step-daughters and sisters as well.

4. Control

When asked, a number of victims who experienced domestic violence in their childhood were unable to single out a concrete reason why their fathers abused them. Control, they concluded, was the basic motivational factor that governed the personalities of their father, and in few cases, their mother or guardian. The violent individual's need to 'control' and 'be in command of' every single feature of the children's life is the most vital characteristic to domestic violence. Such a person wants to own and possess the children and love to make them totally submissive. He tends to show his controlling behavior by isolating the children from relatives, friends and community. He behaves so rudely and violently even with the people that they stop coming to his house. In this way, he makes sure that the children are not getting any support from the outsiders and remain obedient and acquiescent to him. Restriction on movements was another form of control talked about by the victims of domestic violence. Children are tied and locked inside the room so that they remain in the house and could not escape. Abusers try to stop their children from talking to others. They tape-record the children's phone calls underhandedly in order to know who they were talking to (McGee, 2000). Following are a number of controlling behaviors that were experienced by the children brought up in a household of domestic violence.

Frightening by inflicting an injury or threatening to kill

By stopping giving money to the children

Not allowing them to go to toilet

Controlling what to buy, eat and wear

Attempting suicide in front of the children

Not permitting children to have friends

Not giving permission to go to bed unless allowed by the abuser

Breaking and damaging the household items or the toys of children (McGee, 2000)

5. Economic Abuse

Abusers feel empowered as long as they have money in their hands. They use tactics of abusing the woman and the children economically. Domestic violence child sufferers see their fathers depriving their mothers of money. Abuser stops providing food, clothes and other necessary items that are the basic right of his wife and children. By doing so, he makes sure that the woman does not have any money to get help. Children witnessing these situations are highly likeable to become criminals, thieves and burglars when they grow up as they have the experience of a 'poverty-stricken' childhood (McGee, 2000).

It is an unfortunate reality that domestic violence is a nuisance which is rippling all the way through our societies. All lines pertaining to religion, community, economy, profession and civilization have been crossed by this menace. It can easily be concluded after having a look at what is mentioned above that innocent children are being continuously targeted by the abusers. The hunger for control and supremacy motivates abusers to make children suffer their aggressive, antagonistic and hostile behavior (Graves, 2002). Regrettably, children's safety and welfare is neglected by the community as parents are thought to be the sole 'possessors' of their offspring. Thus, society does not pay much attention to the children living with their parents. Children who witness violence in the family keep it a secret and are afraid to tell others what they experience. It doesn't matter when the violence starts. What matters is that a child opening up his eyes in such a dreadful environment where abusing is practiced as a daily 'ritual', is extremely and permanently affected (Underwood, 2006).

Effects of Domestic Violence on Children

Physical and Emotional Effects

Relentless problems in behavior, pitiable impulse control, emotional segregation, anger, drug abuse, escaping, felonious behavior, weakened self-esteem, fear of rejection and corporeal damage, guiltiness, requirement of disproportionate adult attention and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) are the disturbing emotional effects that a domestic-violence-affected child can endure and experience. Children who are more likely to develop PTSD symptoms are those who have witnessed and underwent a never-ending and brutal domestic violence. It has been reported that the younger children are more prone to develop PTSD rather than those adults who went through the same devastating experiences. Even the small babies who have seen family violence have shown various symptoms associated with PTSD. A child who is traumatized and troubled experiences a wide variety of overwhelming feelings and experiences. Some of them are apprehension, intimidation, pain, aggravation, hunger, confusion and volatility. The development of his brain is disrupted and altered as the child stops trusting the world and its dwellers. He sees the world as disordered, upsetting, erratic, brutal and unreliable (Graves, 2002).

It has been approved globally after observation and research that domestic violence has a negative, off-putting and unconstructive impact on children. Reports say that almost every child who witnessed and experienced family violence had a disturbed, stressed and troubled emotional IQ. The negative effects chased the children to their adolescence as well. The child's life is totally affected by the behavior of his father or father figure towards the mother. Violence, brutality and aggression on the mother affect the psychology of the child to the highest degree. The child's social relations are weakened. Fear, helplessness and dejection encircle the child's emotional status when he is treated poorly or he sees another member of the family being treated badly. Domestic violence not only affects the child's mental and psychological level but it also hinders his educational progress and physical growth (McGee, 2000).

Children who experience verbal abuse only do not show much mental distress. On the contrary, those younger ones who experience both verbal and physical abuse and witness the same behavior towards their mother tend to show much more psychological impacts and inconsistencies. Thus, as more forms of violence are experienced by children, they have more difficulties and complexities to cope with life (McGee, 2000).

The end result of the family violence and abusive behavior could be the bodily damage, mental mutilation and in some cases, even death. The most susceptible ones to the physical damages are the small children. Children who are incessantly subjected to abuse experience various psychological grievances such as absenteeism, fretfulness, culpability, embarrassment and melancholy. Most of them have a propensity to commit suicides. Many become delinquents and felonious by getting themselves involved in unlawful and illicit activities (Child Abuse, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009). These unlucky children who observe violent and aggressive behaviors in their family are in great jeopardy to have difficulties to adjust in the society when they grow up. They demonstrate a conduct that is antagonistic and belligerent. Their personalities reflect symptoms of anxiety and depression. They do not have any idea how to represent themselves in their community (Jouriles, McDonald, Slep, Heyman & Garrido, 2008).

Anger

A commonly found effect on children who observed family violence is 'anger'. It is not astonishing that a child could demonstrate an aggressive behavior after seeing continuous violent acts in his home. Such a child becomes naughty, disobedient, rebellious and revengeful. They seek to take vengeance by physically assaulting the abuser. The patterns of aggressive behavior are somehow different in boys and girls. Boys show aggression particularly to their mothers or other females. On the other hand, girls are hateful of men and boys. These children detest and have an extreme dislike for the opposite sex. Girls who see their fathers mutilating their mothers become poisonous enough to hate men for the rest of their lives. The image of a male figure is intolerable for them. Such aggressive children need anger-management and assertiveness training so that their feelings of anger could flush out of their bodies and souls.

Sadness

Sadness is another most important effect that could remain the part of a child's personality even if he is no more a witness of the circumstances he experienced. The family violence disturbs a child to the extent that 'sadness' takes a permanent abode in his mind and soul. Siblings fail to comfort and protect each other in situations of violence and fear as every one of them is saddened. In extreme and unbearable scenarios, children commit suicides by cutting their wrists, throwing themselves from a high place, stepping out in front of vehicles on a busy road etc. (McGee, 2000).

Fear

It has been reported that 'fear' is the most common influence on the personalities of violently-behaved children. They are afraid of the abuser's violent behavior and what might be his next step (McGee, 2000). The fear of the unknown makes them pusillanimous and faint-hearted. The mother and children fail to support each other emotionally as both the parties become weak and scrawny due to the uninterrupted heaviness of horror. Children are especially afraid of the physical hurt that could be done to them due to the aggressive nature of the abuser. If they see other members of the family (mother or siblings) being harmed by the abuser, they fear that the same would be done to them. They watch their mothers being physically assaulted on a daily basis which reinforces in their minds that they are the next target of violence. This constant fear of violence makes them shaky, unsteady and insecure. They start thinking that the physical damage would lead them to death and they would be murdered by the abuser. The innocent minds are full of suspicious thoughts that they would be debilitated. Some abusers even give threats to kill them so the state of mind of such children is warped and unbalanced. They fear of losing their mothers. This situation affects a child's life greatly. They have nightmares and bed-wetting could also be the result in such circumstances. After growing up, aggression and behavioral problems could become a permanent trait of his personality. Some children have problems of speech impediment and sleepwalking. Some of them run away from home to get rid of the abuser forever. However, most of the escaped children were fearful that they would be found by the abuser and would be harmed (McGee, 2000).

Powerlessness

When it comes to dealing with the abuser, children find themselves powerless, incapable and unprotected. They want to bring the violence to a standstill but they don't know what to do. This feeling of powerlessness and incapacity increases their depression and distress. They want to help and protect their mother but they find themselves incapable and unaided. This feeling of 'being-able-to-do-nothing' gives a rise to their feelings of anger and they think of ideas to kill the abuser. They feel guilty that they are useless in providing safety to their mother. This situation is a real trauma for children. It is very important for a child to share his feelings in order to relieve himself from the emotional 'calamity'.

Effects on Education

Due to the abuser's violence and hostile behavior at home, the educational progress of children is also affected. Their minds are filled up with the thoughts of happenings at home in the classroom. They worry about what would be happening at home with their mother or siblings or what would happen when they would go back from school. They sleep in class as the abuser deprives them of sleep at night. Consequently, this lack of concentration to the lectures or assigned tasks results in the dropping off of a child's work level. Some children show aggression at school so the institution or school refuses to keep them. A number of children try to spend as much time at school as possible so that they can stay at a temporary 'refuge' away from home (McGee, 2000).

Effects on Health

Children's health is seriously affected by the domestic violence. Research shows that children who were the targets of domestic violence had a number of health issues including eating disorders, headaches, stomachaches, disturbed sleeping, eczema, and asthma. Developmental delays are also reported in some cases. Babies have feeding and speech problems when the unfortunate creatures are subjected to violence (McGee, 2000).

Juvenile Delinquency

The delinquent behaviors characterized in a teenager are the outcomes of domestic violence. A childhood spent in a home where disregard, adversity, violence and abuse prevailed in the environment gives birth to a juvenile delinquent in most cases. Such teenagers show violence to dating partners or family members when they become aware of the fact that they have the power to do so (Baker & Jeffe, 2003). They take pleasure in carrying out activities that are unlawful and illicit as such actions reinforce their self-worth.

Childhood experiences are very significant for the future life of an individual. Children exposed to domestic violence have a troubled childhood and consequently they have a hard time dealing with their later life. A child who continuously experiences abusive behavior and severe violence is highly likeable to mutineer and becomes a delinquent. They engage themselves in criminal and violent acts to escape from the bitter reality of their lives. Such an individual thinks that whatever he is doing with other people is justified as justice was not done with him in his earlier age (Aichhorn, 1955). By using violent ways, teenagers express their feelings of anger, depression and dejection. In order to build up their crushed self-esteem, they tend to adopt illegal ways to harm people as they were themselves harmed in their childhood. Teen crime increases due to the rise in family violence. Parents who abuse children or partners in every possible way (physically, verbally or emotionally) raise children who later involve themselves in 'against the law' activities (Juvenile Delinquency, psychology.jrank.org).