Is An Act Of Aggressive Behavior

Domestic violence, an ongoing problem within many households, is an act of aggressive behavior typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner. The perpetrators who engage in the violence leave long-lasting scars within the child’s memory, as their minds are developing. According to a statistic formulated by Hamby, Finkelhor, and Turner approximately 18% of children under the age of 18 years are exposed to physical domestic violence and about 16% are exposed to psychological domestic violence. This exposure can range from either watching the violent event, hearing the distressing sounds, direct involvement, and or experiencing the aftermath.

Various research has cast a light onto the underlying psychological consequences onto the growing minds of adolescents dealing with behavioral and mental health due to extended exposure to domestic violence.

Children experiencing domestic violence undergo many behavioral changes due to the instability within the household. In many cases, these changes can forever leave a mark on their life which can alter the way they consequently behave with people around them.

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These children often feel flooded with feelings of helplessness and anxiety from the initial chaos occurring within their home. Grych and Fincham devised the two stages of processing regarding the initial exposure to interparental conflict and how the child interprets the situation. Their two stages, known as primary processing and secondary processing, accounted for the in depth thought process a child experiences upon witnessing the conflict. They hypothesized that those individuals who don't cope effectivity to the experience are more prone to the effects dealing with anxiety which can take a toll onto their behavior down the line.

More or less, behavioral problems distinctively fall into two categories of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Under the category of externalizing behaviors that occur in children, they tend to exhibit more aggressive behaviors and are more likely to engage in trouble within their schools and communities ranging from sudden outbursts to fights . They are susceptible to getting involved in behaviors that are not ideal due to the fact that they’ve been conditioned to think that acting out through a form of aggression is an acceptable concept as a means of solving problems. This conditioning of thought occurs from witnessing the violent behavior from their parent which physiologically makes it okay for them to follow their footsteps. Often times, the perpetrators of many households have been exposed to domestic violence while growing up which led to them falling into the continuous cycle of engaging in violent behavior.

Elsdon made a keen observation that boys are more likely to exhibit externalizing behaviors, while girls display more internalized behavior. Boys act out by attacking the abusive person because they want to serve as a protective figure towards their mother and their family members. According to psychologist Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, it explains how through various observations and reinforcements a child has the potential to display the same behavior in the future, resulting in the act of imitation. With the extended exposure to the violent act, the child grows up with that scene lingering in the back of their mind, which results in the imitation of behavior.

Prolonged exposure can led to the child to feel endangered in their own home. To many children, home is far from the idealized safe haven from the outside world. Children who are exposed to violence in the home are denied their right to a safe and stable environment. They feel powerless with no one to turn to, which in turn provokes the desire to escape the environment. The children’s strong desire from a violent environment surfaces a new problem. In many cases, girls make an effort to escape from an abusive caretaker but unfortunately end up trapped into an abusive relationship. They remain in this cycle of violent behavior with no means of finding a way out. Ornduff and Monahan conducted a survey which revealed that the children felt more secure and happier in the shelters than they did in their violent homes where they were constantly placed under stressed.  Those children who were able to seek help from trusted adults were able to find a place where they can call home, away from the unwanted stress that comes with living in an abusive household.

This can significantly minimize an individual’s psychological effects by giving them a way to cope with the event. Depending on the individual circumstances, the internalizing behaviors generally deal with fear, depression, anxiety and withdrawal from society and family. These behaviors are those that occurs within one’s self, generally not involving any physical involvement. Many authors such as Cummings have shown in studies conducted through experiments that children display an increased sensitivity to angry adult interactions and respond with feelings of sadness, fear, anger, and distress. Holden evaluated the negative emotions and associations made with family relationships regarding those children who witness interparental violence. Children begin to form these correlations as it becomes apparent to them their home isn't a safest place to be in. Exposure can introduce a set of problems dealing with anxiety and depression.