Scholarly Article 1

Scholarly Article

Website URL

http://dare2.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/handle/1871/18174/Baldry_Child%20Abuse%20%26%20Neglect_27(7)_2003_u.pdf?sequence=2

 

Bullying and Exposure to Domestic Violence

            Being exposed to parental domestic violence made children more susceptible to being bullied/ being a bully themselves. In a research study that was conducted by the Italian National Research Council, scientists concluded that being exposed to violence between parents is associated with bullying and victimization in school. Violence within the family has harmful effects on the child’s behavior.

            Bullying is something that has plagued most schools across the country, and in recent years it has become more prevalent. Many researchers believe that a child’s violent behavior in school stems from an exposure to violence within that child’s home. In the case of domestic violence, children that live in that environment are more likely to repeat that same act of violence on children in their school. “Children witnessing violence perpetuated by their partners were nearly three times as likely to be involved in physical aggression at school (fighting, bullying, or threatening others) compared to those who did not witness violence (28.1% vs. 11.3%) and over twice as likely to be involved in indirect aggression (nonphysical forms of aggression, such as rallying friends against someone, spreading gossip, excluding someone from a group, or setting up another child for punishment)” (“Bullying in schools and exposure to…”).  Children,

(especially girls) who witness their mothers being harassed, insulted, and beaten up by a male figure, might learn that violence is a normal way of being treated and  boys, on the other hand,

may idolize the (male)  person responsible for the violence and learn that violence is an okay way to respond to conflict and then become aggressive with classmates that are smaller than them . A dysfunctional family, mainly one where especially domestic violence is a part of everyday life, might encourage bullying in several ways. Parents might show very little care for their children and not consider their feelings. As a result of parental neglect, a child might develop a very low level of compassion towards others. Families that do not function properly might be hurt by the way power and aggression are shared between family members. Children start to learn to control other people and they might even be encouraged to do so by the dominant figure in their household. So, it is easy to say that domestic violence plays a big part in understanding how children function in tough circumstances and it helps explain how a child’s aggressive behavior is something that is learned at home. Being exposed to violence between parents can reduce a child’s ability of being confident or make a child accept being victimized at school. Domestic violence either teaches a child to harm others or learn how to be a victim, depending on the situation. Either way, the cycle of violence starts at home. If it is not dealt with properly, it will reflect in the way the child interacts with peers and the violence will continue at school.