Article Summary
Fantuzzo, J.W., and Fusco, R.A. October 2007.
Children's direct exposure to types of domestic violence crime: A population-based investigation. Journal of Family Violence 22(7):543–553.
The authors describe a study in which police officers were asked to collect data on children exposed to domestic violence for 1 year. The results proved that children were present at over half of all incidents reported, and that 81 percent of those children were directly exposed to the violence. The study found that children under age 6 were at the greatest risk and that the households at the greatest risk were low-income, non-White, and usually headed by a single female. The authors cite two striking statistics: (1) intimate partner violence accounted for 20 percent of all nonviolent crimes experienced by woman in 2001 and (2) in the last 25 years, 57,000 individuals have been killed as a result of domestic violence situations. Among the reported harmful effects of exposure to violence for children: lower levels of social competence, fewer interests outside school, and less involvement in social activities compared to children from nonviolent homes.
Follow us on Twitter
Connect with the Safe Start Center community of
outreach and support. 24 hours a day.
