CHILDREN AS WITNESS:

EDUCATING CHILDHOOD

WITNESSES OF DOMESTIC

VIOLENCE

Colleen Lelli, Ed.D Cabrini College April 12, 2014

Global Summit on Childhood Association for Childhood Education

International (ACEI)

Objectives:

Objective/Goal #1 Participants will be able to use

strategies in the school setting to help students learn

who have witnessed domestic violence

Objective/Goal 2 Participants will explore the

newly designed Children as Witness curriculum.

Objective/Goal #3 Participants will use the new

curriculum to make connections on how to use the

curriculum within their own educational settings.

Objective/Goal #4 Participants will address the

needs of young children (grades K-6) exposed to

domestic violence.

Domestic Violence

Systematic abuse by one person in an intimate relationship in order to control and dominate the partner

Abusive controlling behaviors can be: physical, emotional, mental, sexual, spiritual, social, and economic

Afflicts persons of all socioeconomic categories and cultures

One in 14 marriages in the U.S. suffers from repeated, severe violence

Power and Control Wheel

Statistics- Prevalence

The Massachusetts Advocates for Children (2005)

found that between 3.3 million and 10 million

children in the United States witness violence in their

own homes each year.

More than three million children view incidents of

domestic violence every year, in which more than

half of male abusers physically harm their children

(Hasseler, 2006).

Exposure to Domestic Violence

1. Direct observation

- Being caught in the crossfire

2. Overhearing

3. Finding the aftermath…

4. Becoming an additional target

5. Experiencing police intervention, medical attention (ambulance/hospital), fleeing to safety

EXPERIENCING: Awareness that violence is occurring between adult caregivers or between an adult caregiver and another adult; suffering consequences of the violence

Signs of Violence in the Home

Three to five years old:

Acts like abuser

Afraid to do anything

Limited imagination

Six to twelve years old:

Act out

Difficulty concentrating

Parentified

Shame

Effects of Domestic Violence

on Children

Traumatic experiences change children’s expectation of the world and destroy the victim’s fundamental assumptions about the safety and expectations of the world (The Massachusetts's Advocates for Children, 2005)

Children’s safety and security of interpersonal life is refined or changed (The Massachusetts's Advocates for Children, 2005)

Children may have diminished self worth and feel incapable of having a positive impact on the outside world (The Massachusetts's Advocates for Children, 2005, Kearney, 2001)

Effects of Domestic Violence

on Children

Children witnessing domestic violence experience developmental delays and have increased behavioral and emotional problems (Spath, 2003; Edelson, 1999; NACVAW, n.d., Fantuzzo & Stevenson, 1997, Barrett-Kruse, C. et al 1998, Kearney, 2001)

Children exposed to domestic violence often show symptoms in the areas of behavioral and emotional functioning, cognitive and school problems, and social relationships (Hughes, Graham-Bermann and Gruber, 2002)

Children may become defiant, or engage in parentified behaviors siblings and/or pour themselves into activities that they love (Bancroft, 2004)

Neurobiology and Domestic Violence

Many researchers (Zull, 2002; Shaywitz, 2003; DeBellis, 2005) have uncovered areas of the brain which relate specifically to learning and also to responding to trauma and violence episodes.

Studies are beginning to uncover neurobiological evidence that the ability to connect words to experience can be impeded by trauma (The Massachusetts Advocates for Children, 2005).

Research has found that Broca’s area, the part of the brain that is responsible for language, is inhibited during traumatic situations.

Neurobiology and Domestic Violence

Brain researchers also explain that growing children go

through ‘critical periods’ during which certain areas of the

brain develop very rapidly and are more susceptible than

usual to stressful experiences.

Ford (2005), found that some women with abuse-related

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have impairments in

information processing, including the ability to categorize

information and access to verbal information.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in

Children

Persistent memories of the event

Hypervigilance – can lead to aggression, impulsivity

Insomnia and/or nightmares -> exhaustion in school

Poor concentration and attention

Physical ailments

Feeling numb, detached

Anxiety, rumination

Behavioral reenactments

Pessimism about the future; depression

Childhood Trauma and Academic

Performance

Succeeding in school, including academic achievement and

social competence, poses a huge hurdle for children who have

witnessed domestic violence.

Shonk and Cicchetti (2001) found that maltreated children

show more severe academic problems than do comparison

children.

Effects on Cognition Exposure to family violence compromises:

Memory

Integration of new and previously learned material

Attention

Lower verbal and motor skills

Impaired development of self-awareness and reasoning

Effects on School Functioning

Child Witnesses are more likely to

Exhibit disruptive and destructive behavior

Be suspended from school

Be truant

Be referred to a speech pathologist

Have a GPA at or below 1.0

Use alcohol or other drugs

Impact of Trauma on Learning

Family violence has traumatizing effects that limit

children’s ability to acquire the competencies required for

school success.

Trauma is sometimes camouflaged by other behavior

problems. When children traumatized by family violence

are misdiagnosed, they do not receive the interventions

they need.

Early exposure to violence reorganizes the brain.

Curriculum Development: Creating Conversations

about Domestic Violence

Purpose: To increase understanding of domestic violence among

educators and provide awareness of the community-based

resources and interventions available to assist young children

(K-6) who are confronting domestic violence.

Approximately 12 lessons

Appendix with Community Based Resources

Will need information from advisory panel members to help

compile resources of resources/agencies which may help

teachers and schools.

Contents of Lessons 1-5

The objective for the first five lessons is to build awareness of

domestic violence.

Lesson topics include:

Myths and realities of domestic violence

Terms important to understanding domestic violence

Power and control element and wheel

Understanding domestic violence as a social justice issue

Understanding domestic violence as a human rights violation

Contents of Lessons 6-12

The objective of the last five lessons is to provide teachers with strategies for their classroom to students who have been affected by domestic violence

Lesson topics include:

How exposure to violence changes the learning process

How domestic violence influences children’s language and memory

Supporting the reading and writing process for children who have been exposed to violence

Using children’s literature to discuss feelings and domestic violence

Creating trauma sensitive schools

Children as Witness Project

www.cabrini.edu/DomesticViolence/

www.cabrini.edu/domesticviolenceinitiatives

Questions/Comments

References

Carrion, V.G. (2011). Youth violence, posttraumatic stress symptoms & learning. California Healthy Students Research Projects, Brief No.5. Retrieved from http://www.childrennow.org .

Craig, S. (2008). Reaching and Teaching Children Who Hurt: Strategies for Your Classroom. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Coster, W. & Cicchetti, D. (1993). Research on the communicative development of maltreated children: Clinical implications. Topics in Language Disorders, 13, 25-38.

Edleson, J. L. (1999). Children’s witnessing of adult domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 839-870.

Edleson, J., Ellerton, A.L., Seagren, E.A., Kirchberg, S.L., Schmidt, S.O., & Ambrose, A.T. (2007). Assessing children’s exposure to adult domestic violence. Children & Youth Services Review, 29, 961-971.

Fantuzzo, J. W. & Mohr, W. K. (1999). Prevalence and effects of child exposure to domestic violence. The Future of Children, 9, 21-32.

Ford, J. (2005). Treatment implication of altered affect regulations and information processing follwoing child maltreatment. Psychiatric Annals, 35, 412-419.

Haeseler, L. (2006). Children of abuse and school discourse: Implications for teachers and administration. Education, 126, 534-540.

Kernic, M.A., Holt, V.L., Wolf, M.E., McKnight, B., Hueber, C.E., & Rivara, F.P. (2002). Academic and school health issues among children exposed to maternal intimate partner abuse. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 156, 549-555

Massachusetts Advocates for Children, The Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center

of Harvard Law School & Task Force on Children Affected by Domestic

Violence. (2005). Helping Traumatized Children Learn. Retrieved July 9, 2008,

from http://www.massadvocates.org/helping_traumatized_children_learn.

Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming Dyslexia. New York, New York: Random House

Publishing.

Shonk, S.M., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Maltreatment, competency deficits, and risk

for academic and behavioral maladjustment. Developmental Psychology, 37,

3-17.

Yates, T.M., Dodds, M.F., Sroufe, A., & Egeland, B. (2003). Exposure to partner

violence and child behavior problems: A prospective study controlling for

child physical abuse and neglect, child cognitive ability, socioeconomic status,

and life stress. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 199-218.

Zull, J. (2002). The Art of the Changing Brain. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing.

References

Colleen Lelli, Ed.D.

Assistant Professor of Education

Cabrini College

Radnor, PA USA

CL724@cabrini.edu

Colleenlelli@yahoo.com

610-902-8466

Presenter Information