A family is a social institution that makes a vital instrument for socialization that helps make society possible. Therefore, the primary function of a family is to socialize its children. A prosperous society adequately socializes its children and family plays an essential role for this to happen. Another essential function of a family is to provide practical, emotional support for its children, for instance, love, comfort, and understanding. Provision of shelter, food, clothing, education is also a function of a family (Anthony, 2014). It also aids control sexual activities for its children by teaching them society’s norms and morals. Lastly, it provides a social identity for its members. Children prosperity depends mostly on their parent’s social status they hold in the society. Children born to parents who are at the top of social hierarchy have an advantage of being prosperous in life than those of needy families.
On the contrary, a family can be the source of conflict and instead of providing protection and emotional support for its members it does the opposite. It becomes a battlefield with common arguments, shouting and physical vehemence. Mostly, domestic violence occurs as a result of economic variation and one spouse being dominant. Also, poverty largely contributes to much domestic violence it alters the normal functioning of the family (Anthony, 2014). For many years women have been in the limelight as the most affected group when it comes to matters pertaining domestic violence, with slight consideration of the implications the same has on the millions of children that witness and even being the subject of the event. Domestic violence transpires in the form of defilement, rape, sexual harassment, battering, and child abuse, for instance, denial of rights, hostile communication, and negligence. Therefore there has been growing public responsiveness concerning the physical and psychological torture that children go through as a result of domestic violence. A study carried out in the United States of America shows that an average of 7 million children is affected by domestic violence every year. Domestic violence has undesirable severe implications in children, as it affects their social, behavioral, emotional and academic aspects of life. These effects can be seen from different stages of a child’s life, mostly their performance in class.
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A research study conducted by Johnnie Lassiter Dyson on how family violence affects children academic performance and behavior. She found out that homicide committed by a member of the family is leading cause of demise among the African-Americans. Many children from these families suffer posttraumatic stress disorder since they are severely affected by these cruel happenings they witness (Anthony, 2014). The main goal of the study was to show how experience to domestic abuse affects children’s academic performance and their behavior. To understand these a research study was conducted on two case scenarios to demonstrate how domestic abuse affects children’s academic achievement and behavior.
A study was conducted on a 15-year-old boy named David who was in eighth grade referred to the counselor by his teacher with complaints of continuous class disturbances, absenteeism, and bullying. He missed his first session of counseling after the school management suspended him after stealing a car. The school records showed that David consumed most of his time doing punishments and was a familiar character in the school disciplinary panel. Teachers disclosed that despite how heavy the penalty is, David would continuously put a smile on his face. His actions were intimidating, and despite many attempts by teachers to advise him, he would do the exact opposite (Anthony, 2014). He was involved in many street robberies and drugs. His mother would always come to school to report that the son was missing as sometimes he would not reach home after school. At one point he came to school drunk and was suspended. According to teachers, he was weak in class, and none of the teachers has ever received any assignments from him or hear him voluntarily read. Every time a teacher picks him to read he would act hostile to cover his inability.
At some point in his seventh-grade teachers recommended being transferred to a special school for persons with disabilities but for unknown reasons it never came to be. On inquiry about David’s background, he was the last born in a family of seven that hails in the inner urban of Chicago. The mother reported that her husband died while in prison of chest problem where he had been convicted of using heroin. His mother confessed that with the loss of her partner she was faced with the liability of upbringing all the seven children alone. Soon after the loss of his father, another tragic incident hit the family, David’s uncle was killed and cousin raped and murdered. A few years later his brother was shot by unknown people, and he bled to death (McMahon, 2013). Following these occurrences and the fear of increased insecurity in the neighborhood, his mother took a flight to Arizona. For the two years, they stayed in Arizona David received an inadequate and unreliable education.
Upon their return to Chicago, David was enrolled in third grade because of his advanced age and not his academic performance. His mother confessed to being aware of his son poor performance in school, yet nothing was done to reverse the situation. She also said that David had been an obedient child all through until in his seventh grade when she started having problems with him (McMahon, 2013). Before that, he repeated a class because of poor performance. On interviewing David, he was aggressive and distrustful.
Another study conducted on a 15-year-old teen named Steve an eighth-grade pupil described by his peers and teachers as hot-tempered. During the interview with the teen, he spoke amid tears and anger of the brutal murder of his mother that occurred a few years back. He said that the shooting was executed in full watch of him, his siblings and other members of the family. In his words, there were feelings of bitterness, hatred, and revenge. He said his only consolation would be the time he will slay the lady who shot her mother. The teen talked about how close, caring and loving his mother was and how her demise has affected him. Since the murder of his mother he has been unsocial and admitted to having no friends since he doesn’t trust anyone (McMahon, 2013). Throughout his schooling, he has been to eight different schools. Teachers reported of poor academic performance and troublesome behavior.
They said that he spent most of his time doing punishments as he is often involved in fights and insulting other students and even adults. He was labeled rude, aggressive and rebellious to teachers (Thornton, 2014). Steve was a third born in a family of four children. His sister dropped out of school after getting pregnant while his elder brother was nursing a gunshot wound. His 10-year-old sister a third grade was always suspended from school for fighting other students. He was brought up by his grandmother alongside his siblings, cousins, uncles, and aunts. His grandmother revealed a history of violence in the family. His aunt who was a prostitute was shot dead at the age of 28 years. His uncle was also shot shortly after an attempted robbery. Another aunt died of suspected drug overdose while his mother got shot after she was involved in a street fight with another woman (McMahon, 2013).
The two cases portray a clear picture of how violence impacts children lives. David early life experiences affected his childhood development. The family tragedy to mother fleeing the city affected his education as it became inadequate and unreliable during his early years of schooling. Enrolling him in a class, he wasn’t prepared for, on the basis of his advanced age by teachers who had no idea of his earlier experiences and not considering his educational performance contributed to his academic failure. Steve’s past is also unique (Thornton, 2014). Being raised in a large extended family continuously involved in violence and crimes affected his childhood. Therefore, children that experience violence in their early life tend to suffer posttraumatic stress disorder and tend to respond to these stressors being impulsive and having odd behaviors, hot-tempered, easily agitated, and socially withdrawn and avoidance of school activities.
In conclusion children with histories of violence, especially if they come from unruly backgrounds should be treated just like other children. Assurances, understanding, and psychotherapy are vital in improving their perception of life and its meaning. Individual and group therapies for these children is beneficial, and therefore it should be made a routine in schools with the help of a counselor (Thornton, 2014). Group therapies have proved to enable these children to identify and cultivate alternative ways of coping with life’s pressures, unlike when the previously relied on violence and vengeance. It also provides a feeling of acceptance and belonging.
References
Amato, P. R., & Anthony, C. J. (2014). Estimating the effects of parental divorce and death with fixed effects models. Journal of Marriage and Family , 76 (2), 370-386.
McMahon, S. D., Todd, N. R., Martinez, A., Coker, C., Sheu, C. F., Washburn, J., & Shah, S. (2013). Aggressive and prosocial behavior: Community violence, cognitive, and behavioral predictors among urban African American youth. American Journal of Community Psychology , 51 (3-4), 407-421.
Thornton, V. (2014). Understanding the emotional impact of domestic violence on young children. Educational & Child Psychology , 31 (1), 90-100.
