Impact on Development

Exposure to Violence Impacts a Child's Development in Several Ways:

• Children are forced to learn early lessons about loss, death and body functioning. These lessons often present themselves before the child has the cognitive apparatus to understand them.

Four year old Victoria's father was fatally shot through the heart in gang warfare. She constantly asked if her mother's heart and lungs were OK.

• Children learn at an early age that the world is a dangerous and unpredictable place. Their natural curiosity about exploring and moving out into the world is affected.

Ten year old Liam witnessed a shooting that involved his younger sister. He told his counselor that he did not think he would ever feel safe going outside again.

• Children who witness violence come to see the adults in their lives as unable to protect them. They believe they must take responsibility for keeping themselves and their loved ones safe, a prospect that causes great anxiety for children.

Sonja, age five, drew a picture of her mother, a victim of domestic violence, lying on the floor beside the bed. Sonja goes on to tell a story about how she and her little brother were playing alone in the next room. She began to worry that something might happen to her brother and that her mother would be unable to help her.

• Children who witness violence experience overwhelming helplessness in the face of trauma. This helplessness leads to feelings of incompetence and worthlessness.

At age nine, Anthony who was shot in the leg on a playground managed to leave the playground during the melee. He did not tell his parents about the injury until they discovered the blood several hours later. When asked about this astounding secrecy, he replied that he just wanted to forget about it because he was afraid that it was his fault and that his parents would be angry with him.

• When children feel helpless and terrified, they may turn to aggression and hostility as a means of feeling more powerful and less vulnerable. It is safer to be aggressive than to be the helpless bystander.

Donald, now twelve, had witnessed violence in his neighborhood almost as long as he could remember. He frequently drew pictures of playground fights being settled with guns or of himself armed with weapons.

• There is increasing evidence to suggest that witnessing violence at an early age is a strong risk factor for engaging in violent, or anti-social behavior later in life. In a study of elementary school age children, those who witnessed violence and personal victimization were more likely to become perpetrators of violence. Studies of juvenile offenders show that a disproportionate number of them witnessed violence in their early lives; domestic violence appears to be a particular risk factor. Thus, the cycle of violence is continued: children witness violence in early life and may grow up to engage in violent behavior themselves.
  
  
• More recent research focuses on changes in the physiology of the brain due to exposure to trauma. Preliminary evidence suggests that if a child is exposed to chronic stress or trauma, the brain's functioning is changed. This exposure to violence at a young age is particularly concerning because of these neurobiological changes that may occur. Traumatizing experiences may over-stimulate the neural pathways that control the fear response, leaving children in a permanently heightened state of fear or anticipation, even in the absence of traumatizing stimuli.

Each and every time seven year old Maria comes into the play therapy room, she asks for reassurance from the therapist that there are no monsters in the room.