The impact of domestic violence on children under five years of age

Objectives: Empirical understanding of the impact of exposure to domestic violence on children has been largely focused on middle childhood and adolescence, with a minimal focus on very young children. Evidence further attests... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives: Empirical understanding of the impact of exposure to domestic violence on children has been largely focused on middle childhood and adolescence, with a minimal focus on very young children. Evidence further attests to the importance of early childhood experiences to an individual’s later development, while concurrently, knowledge on the timing of onset of violence in intimate relationships informs us that pre-school children are at a high risk of experiencing domestic violence in their households. This research is therefore interested in examining the impact of exposure to domestic violence on pre-school children, a time that has important impacts on later development.

Methods: Utilising a fictitious three-stage vignette which spans an 18 month period and reflects on a family experiencing domestic violence who have children under five, focus group interviews are conducted with frontline practitioners who specifically engage directly with such families. These include health visitors, family support workers, child protection social workers and medical staff working in paediatric and maternity settings. The same vignette is employed with each homogenous group of professionals.

Results: The emerging findings highlight both the deleterious impact of such exposure for children’s development and the critical importance of sound clinical practice, grounded in an acute understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence; interagency relationships and support and early years interventions in order to scaffold not only the child but also the family in order to buffer the impact of domestic violence.

Conclusion: This study highlights the acute vulnerability of this age cohort who are entirely dependent on the adults in their lives for care, protection, love, warmth, stability and safety; the importance of early intervention, and how variable professional understandings of the impact of domestic violence in children’s lives has for the critical responses professionals make and the interventions provided.