Children who have witnessed acts of violence can show several symptoms, including:<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00b7 Sleep difficulties; frequent waking, nightmares, fear of falling asleep<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Somatic complaints; headaches, stomachaches, aches and pains with no clear medical cause<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Increased aggression and angry outbursts<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Increased activity level<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Hypervigilance; worries, fears, overreaction to loud noises or sudden movements<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Regression; loss of skills learned at an early age; babyish behavior<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Withdrawal; loss of interest in friends, school, or other activities the child used to enjoy<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Numbing; showing no feelings at all, not bothered by anything<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Increased separation anxiety; refuses to go to school, very upset when left with babysitter or child care provider<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Distractibility; has trouble concentrating at home or school<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Changes in play; repeatedly acts out or recreates violent events in play, less able to play spontaneously or creatively<\/p>\n
Witnessing violence also impacts children emotionally and can cause them to be more susceptible to:<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00b7 Depression<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Anger<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Post-traumatic stress disorder<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Role reversal\u2014when children are treated as a therapist or confidant for their parent and are forced to take on additional household responsibilities<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Desensitization to aggressive behavior<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Poor anger management skills<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Poor problem solving skills<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Engagement in exploitative relationships<\/p>\n
Despite these negative consequences, children who witness violence can be helped by:<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00b7 Working with the victim of violence to discuss the options he\/she might have to increase safety<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Visiting a legal advocacy center, domestic violence shelter, or domestic violence services agency to address the issue of safety<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Counseling and mental health interventions<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Support groups, individual therapy, and dyadic treatment with the non-offending parent<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The course of treatment depends on the child\u2019s age, nature and severity of the traumatic reaction, the circumstances of the family, and the availability of other supports. However, it is important to intervene and provide treatment for children who witness violence to reduce the lifelong effects of trauma on the child.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When hearing about child abuse, most people automatically think of physical and sexual abuse. However, witnessing violence can have….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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