Children's Exposure to Violence
Addressing Children's Exposure to Violence in the Context of Child Abuse Prevention
Children exposed to violence include those who are hurt intentionally or accidentally as well as those who witness, hear the sounds of, or see the aftermath of violent events. Exposure to violence can also affect children indirectly by lack of consistent parenting or by high levels of irritability or tension associated with violent homes or communities.
The adverse outcomes associated with children's exposure to violence make a strong case for preventing and reducing its negative effects in a wide range of systems and agencies that interact with vulnerable children and families. In communities or populations where violence is pervasive, acknowledging and addressing the full spectrum of violence—which includes exposure—are essential because a large proportion of the population will have been exposed.
Significant overlap exits among community violence, domestic violence, and child maltreatment. For example, the risk of child maltreatment increases dramatically when adult domestic violence exists in the family or when the family lives in communities with high levels of violence. Furthermore, a combination of individual, family, and community factors contributes to the risk of child abuse and neglect, among them having a history of child abuse in the family of origin, witnessing domestic violence, and living in violent communities.
Solutions to prevent these problems may be more effective if they target children and families with a high number of known risk factors and then provide programs that address them. By acknowledging the connections among different types of victimization and similar patterns of long-term consequences, child abuse prevention efforts can focus on common risk factors and support a series of targeted strategies that increase their effectiveness.
Exposure to violence has cognitive, emotional, physical, and social consequences and should be prevented. Given that earlier experiences with violence are often precursors of later experiences (as victim or perpetrator), the need for primary prevention becomes paramount. That is, by effectively preventing one type of violence (e.g., domestic violence) before it occurs, the risk of exposure and later types of violence (e.g., child abuse and neglect) occurring is decreased.
The Prevention Continuum
The development of effective prevention programs depends on the ability to identify factors that either contribute to or decrease the probability of violent events (i.e., child abuse and neglect). Prevention strategies use information about these factors to determine who should receive which types of prevention programs and to guide the content of prevention efforts to increase protective factors and minimize risks.
A public health approach to prevention is based on three levels. Primary prevention includes actions to prevent adverse events from happening or from re-occurring. Secondary prevention activities focus on early identification and intervention to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes in populations at high levels of risk. Tertiary prevention includes a response after the adverse event to reduce the damages.
Using this continuum as a framework that addresses exposure to violence in the context of prevention of child abuse, efforts can shift the emphasis from focusing on one level of prevention to identifying and integrating opportunities at different levels. As a result, the likelihood of exposure is decreased and the short- and long-term consequences of exposure are reduced. The prevention continuum also provides multiple points of entry for prevention that build on one another. For example, mental health providers who may minimize the effects of exposure are also stopping the cycle of negative impacts and preventing long-term consequences (preventing future violence).
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