Children See Domestic Violence that Often Goes Unreported, Research Finds

Young witnesses suffer fear, anxiety while perpetrators rarely face jail time, according to study

WASHINGTON — A nationwide study of children who have witnessed domestic violence found that parents or caregivers were physically injured in more than a third of the cases, yet only a small fraction of offenders went to jail and just 1 in 4 incidents resulted in police reports, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. 

“One of the most shocking findings is that less than 2 percent of the cases resulted in jail time for the perpetrator,” said lead researcher Sherry Hamby, PhD, a psychology research professor at Sewanee, The University of the South.  

Children were physically hurt in 1 in 75 cases, but they experienced fear and anxiety much more often. More than half of the children said they were afraid someone would be hurt badly, and almost 2 in 5 said the violence was one of their scariest experiences ever, according to the study, published April 7 in the APA journal Psychology of Violence^®...

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2014/04/domestic-violence.aspx

Reposted by:

Charles R. Davenport, Psy.D.

Licensed Psychologist

Charles R. Davenport, Psy.D., LLC.

www.drcharlesdavenport.com