Violence: How it Affects Children

Spurred on by family instability, violent crime now touches millions of young lives. The control of crime in the streets, in the schools, and in the home ought to be the preeminent 'children's issue.'

--Karl Zinsmeister, "Growing up Scared," Atlantic Monthly, June 1990

Karl Zinsmeister's words are more than 30 years old, but the message still resonates. Although violent crime rates had been dropping steadily for decades, millions of kids are still seeing human nature at its worst.

Childhood is supposed to be a time of innocence, but in disadvantaged or inner-city neighborhoods, far too many children see violence instead. When they should be thinking about books and friends and long division, they fixate on fear and death.

They have good reason. One out of three first- and second-graders in Washington, D.C. claimed to have seen a dead body, according to a survey in the journal Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Surveys in cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles have found that one-fourth to one-half of teens and pre-teens in high-violence neighborhoods witnessed stabbings, shootings, or sexual assaults. In a sample of elementary school children from both low- and high-violence neighborhoods in Washington, D.C,, more than 75 percent have witnessed physical assaults. That is not even counting the 19 states that still permit corporal punishment in the public schools, a form of legal child abuse in which many children have been brutally beaten or witnessed their friends and classmates -- some as young as three years old -- hit repeatedly with wooden boards.

The home in the United States is no haven for many children, either. A comprehensive national survey conducted in 2009 found that nearly 1 in 10 children had witnessed one family member assault another.

In addition, no country rivals the United States for gun violence. Our leaders' failure to pass strict gun control laws has resulted in an epidemic of mass shootings, with many taking place in elementary schools, churches, and shopping centers.

Some children and teens have poignant responses to this shocking level of exposure to violence. Georgetown nurse and researcher Judy Rollins once encountered a boy in a dangerous neighborhood who put his faith in a bottle of deodorant he always kept by his bed because the label assured him it was "100 percent safe."

Violent scenes can be unsettling to anyone. For young children, the sight of a stranger getting stabbed, shot, or punched is especially terrifying, bewildering, and stressful, much less a beloved classmate. It's the kind of trauma that can simmer for years after the act. And as a series of recent studies makes abundantly clear, it's the kind of toxic stress that can threaten a child's health, both physically and emotionally. Even for kids who never feel a fist or catch a stray bullet, violence can leave permanent scars.

The young and the defenseless

As reported in the journal Pediatric Nursing, young children tend to believe that the world revolves around them. To their thinking, a stabbing, beating or shooting that they see could somehow be their fault. They may be especially eager to take the blame if they see their parent take a swing at their wife or husband. Children who witness marital violence can experience a variety of emotional and psychological problems, including low self-esteem and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Whether it happens at home or on the street, being around violence can change a child's outlook on life. As reported in Pediatric Nursing, kids who witness violence -- whether it's abusive screaming from a family member, physical assaults, or seeing someone get badly hurt or killed -- often feel anxious, depressed, and lonely. Teenagers may become convinced that they aren't likely to reach adulthood, a belief that can open the door to risky behaviors or suicide attempts. According to the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a department of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, even infants and toddlers can be severely traumatized by scenes of violence such as gang wars, drive-by shootings, and sexual, physical, or emotional abuse.

At any age, fear leads to stress. After seeing a violent act, a child may decide that the world is dangerous and unpredictable. As a result, his body and mind may be on high alert when he should be relaxed. He could be watching cartoons or lying in his bed, and his body will still pump out stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, chemicals that prime the body to face danger.

A little adrenaline feels good once in a while, but a steady flow can throw a child's system off balance. A study of 48 young children published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology found that kids who have seen violence between parents tend to have higher-than-average heart rates, a sign that their adrenaline is in overdrive.

The study in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics found that exposure to violence increases the risk of sleep problems in 6- and 7-year-olds. It also found that kids who were repeatedly exposed to violent acts were especially prone to headaches, which are also associated to stress.

Yet another study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, found that witnessing various types of community violence -- ranging from beatings and chasings to drug deals, arrests, rapes, and shootings -- increased the risk of a wide range of health problems in low-income children, including asthma, colds, stomach problems, and attention deficit disorder. The results led researchers to a startling conclusion: Violence and the resulting stress may actually be the root cause of many of the health problems that plague poor neighborhoods.

A landmark study by Dr. Vincent Felitti and Dr. Robert Anda of Kaiser Permanente, along with the CDC, found that witnessing violence at home is an adverse childhood experience (ACE), and that without buffering from a trusted adult, ACEs greatly increase the risk of developing mental health problems and ife-threatening illnesses in later life.

Staying healthy in a violent world

Parents may not be able to completely isolate their children from a violent world, but they can help children adapt, adjust, and stay healthy. One simple step is to limit exposure to violent television and video games. Watching a murder on TV isn't nearly as traumatic as seeing one in the street, but seeing thousands of virtual killings over time may still warp a child's view of the world. According to a report by the American Psychological Association, such repeated "entertainment" can increase the chance that kids will grow up to be aggressive and even violent adults.

The National Institute of Mental Health offers several other tips for helping children cope with scenes of violence:

• Explain what happened as clearly as you can. This will help him understand he's not to blame.
• Encourage your child to express feelings, but don't force the conversation.
• Let him know it's okay to cry and to feel sad or upset.
• Don't make fun of him or reprimand him if he regresses and acts younger than he really is.
• Assure your fearful child that you'll love him and take care of him.
• If there are sleep disturbances, let him sleep with the lights on or in your room until things get back to normal. When possible, give him a chance to feel in control. For example, let him pick out his own clothes or meals.

Of course, the best thing anyone can do for a child is limit the violence around him, especially in the home. Children need a refuge from the rest of the world, a place where they can feel safe. The alternative is unacceptable: Fear will lead to stress, and stress will lead to emotional upheaval and physical illness. Eventually, children exposed to violence may become violent themselves, potentially creating a new generation of young witnesses. It's a cycle that has to be stopped -- for the sake of this generation and the next.

References

Finkelhor, David, et al. Children's Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. O.

Skybo T. Witnessing violence: Biopsychosocial impact on children. Pediatric Nursing. 31(4): 263-270.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. National Center for PTSD. Community violence. J

Saltzman et al. The psychobiology of children exposed to marital violence. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 34(1): 129-139.

Bailey BN et al. Somatic complaints in children and community violence exposure. Developmental and Behavior Pediatrics. 26(5): 341-347.

Graham-Bermann SA and J Seng. Violence exposure and traumatic stress symptoms as additional predictors of health problems in high risk children. The Journal of Pediatrics. 146(3): 349-354.

American Psychological Association. Childhood exposure to media violence predicts young adult aggressive behaviors, according to new 15-year study.

National Institute of Mental Health. Helping children and adolescents cope with violence and disasters.

Zinsmeister, Karl. Growing up Scared. Atlantic Monthly. June 1990.

U.S. Department of Justice. Violent crime rates declined since 1994, reaching the lowest level ever recorded in 2004.

O'Keefe M. Adolescents' exposure to community and school violence: prevalence and behavioral correlates. Journal of Adolescent Health;20(5):368-76.

Hill HM, et al. Children's and parents' perceptions of children's exposure to violence in urban neighborhoods. Journal of the National Medical Association. Apr;89(4):270-6.

The Atlantic Online. A Grief Like No Other, by Eric Schlosser.

Adverse Childhood Experiences. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index....