Research indicates that child maltreatment occurs in 30 percent to 60 percent of families where spousal abuse takes place. Children in violent homes may witness parental violence, be victims of physical abuse, or be neglected by parents who are focused on their partners or unresponsive to their children due to their own fears. Even if children are not maltreated, they may experience harmful emotional consequences from the violence they witness. Find resources below explaining the intersection of domestic violence and child abuse, as well as resources providing prevention strategies.
Child Witnesses to Domestic Violence
Children and Domestic Violence: How Does Domestic Violence Affect Children? (PDF - 333 KB)
Futures Without Violence & The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2015)
Discusses the factors that influence children’s reactions to domestic violence. This resource identifies ways in which to support health and emotional and mental development among children who have been exposed to violence.
Children and Domestic Violence: Managing Challenging Behavior of Children Living With Domestic Violence
Futures Without Violence & The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2015)
Examines how exposure to domestic violence affects children’s behavior, including levels of aggression and sleeping patterns.
Children Exposed to Violence
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs
Explores the topic of children exposed to violence and discusses how children exposed to violence of one kind are more likely to experience victimizations of other kinds, such as sexual assault, bullying, witnessing intimate-partner violence, and physical abuse. The webpage also reviews risk factors for exposure to violence and outcomes of this exposure.
Domestic Violence and Child Abuse
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Center for Violence Prevention
Provides facts about the intersection of domestic violence and child abuse and discusses consequences for children exposed to violence in their homes.
Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention in Fatherhood Programs
Wilson, Karberg, Wasik, Scott, Laurore, Areán, & Bair-Merritt (2020)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning and Evaluation
Presents information on practices used in fatherhood programs to help prevent and address domestic violence. The report discusses consequences of domestic violence for other adults and children in the home and mentions that children exposed to domestic violence are at higher risk for negative physical, psychological, social, emotional, and behavioral health outcomes, including child abuse and neglect.
Effects of Domestic Violence on Children
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health (2019)
Presents information on children's exposure to domestic violence and how those children are more likely to become victims of child abuse. The webpage discusses the effects of domestic violence on children, how to help children after they have witnessed violence, how to leave an abuser safely, and more.
Intimate Partner/Domestic Violence Co-Occurring With Child Maltreatment: A Bibliography (PDF - 676 KB)
National Children's Advocacy Center (2018)
Presents a listing of literature that covers the intersection between child maltreatment and witnessing domestic violence or intimate partner violence. Some publications in the resource discuss community violence and polyvictimization, and there is information about how children talk about their experiences.