Article Summary
Ybarra, G.J.,Wilkens, S.L., and Lieberman, A.F. January 2007.
The influence of domestic violence on preschooler behavior and functioning. Journal of Family Violence 22(1):33–43.
The authors undertook a study to examine the effects of domestic violence on children and their cognitive and behavioral development. The study included 31 children exposed to domestic violence and 31 not so exposed, all between the ages of 3 and 5, and their single mothers. Pairs of children and mother were assessed on the factors of child’s age, gender, ethnicity, mother’s age and education, and family income. The cognitive and behavioral functioning of the children were measured using both psychological assessment and parental reporting. Results showed that children exposed to violence demonstrated lower verbal functioning and higher internalized behaviors than those not exposed. Moreover, mothers exposed to violence displayed a greater prevalence of psychological difficulties than did those not exposed.
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