Hamby, S., Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., and Ormrod, R. – 2011
A review of data from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV). Reports that 26% of children have been exposed to some form of family violence in their lifetimes. Many youth have witnessed the violence directly. The majority of perpetrators are male. Describes the mental health consequences of exposure to violence. Summarizes key findings of previous studies on children’s exposure to family violence. Presents data from the NatSCEV, broken into type of violence and gender and age of children. Older youth have the highest exposure rates for violence. Eye witnessing is the most common type of exposure for all ages. Male perpetrators are most commonly fathers, followed by boyfriends of mothers and adolescent brothers; mothers and other females account for a substantial minority. The most common child and youth reactions to family violence are yelling to stop it and trying to get away. Authors recommend improved screening methods, interventions, service coordination, and prevention programs.