CHILDREN WITNESSING VIOLENCE - sspa.org.nz · Bruce Perry My cultural ... violence may result in...
Transcript of CHILDREN WITNESSING VIOLENCE - sspa.org.nz · Bruce Perry My cultural ... violence may result in...
CHILDREN WITNESSING VIOLENCE
Actions ‘Now’ Determine What Adults They Will Be
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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E: Hello
S: Malo (Talofa lava)
T: Malo e lelei
C: Kia orana
N: Fakalofa lahi atu
F: Bula vinaka
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Background:
This presentation/program was created utilising knowledge from:
My medical background on brain development – setting of neuro pathways
Research and literature from over seas – specifically Brainwave and the work of
Bruce Perry
My cultural perspective
Child Development
How Pacific parents view their children
Behavioural analysis
Knowledge on Pacific Family Violence dynamics
Post traumatic stress disorders
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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TOPICS COVERED Title
Preface/Background/Greetings
Topics
Context of topic
Research/Stats
Anatomical/Physiological structure of child development
The Psychology and Physiology of Trauma
Effects and Impacts from the environment on that brain
Intergenerational Violence
Neuropathways setting
Legislative Requirements
Pacific Perspective
Summary/Conclusion/Farewell
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
Context
This presentation is based on a particular group of children:
Those children that witness adult violence, and not known to be physically
abused.
Highlighting that – emotional & psychological
abuse of children is one of the biggest obstacles to children’s potential.
These children are vulnerable and invisible because there are no physical signs
of abuse or injuries from the violence
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Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Research & Statistics
Silvern, et al. (1995) and her colleagues caution that witnessing domestic
violence may result in traumatic effects on children that are distinct from the
effects of child abuse.
Studies show that children were aware and pick up atmospheres that lead to an
incident.
Not only that, but more then half experienced physical abuse themselves,
two thirds were subjected to emotional abuse and controlling behaviors
resembling those used by men to control women. (McGee,2000).
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Children who witness violence between adults in their homes are only the most
recent victims to become visible. These children have been called the “silent,”
“forgotten,” and “unintended” victims of adult-to-adult domestic violence
(Elbow, 1982; Groves et al., 1993; Rosenbaum & O’Leary, 1981)
These children are vulnerable because of their dependence upon and relationship
with their mothers, vulnerable because of the lack of stability, security, and
protection afforded by their environment, and vulnerable because of the lack of
power they have over the onset or outcome of the violence. BY TANIA POCOCK*
AND FIONA CRAM 2011
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Hughes, Parkinson and Vargo (1989) have suggested that both witnessing
abuse and also being abused is a “double whammy” for children. Their study
compared children who were both abused and had witnessed violence to
children who had only witnessed violence and to others who had been
exposed to neither type of violence.
They found that children who were both abused and witnesses exhibited the
most problem behaviours, the witness-only group showed moderate problem
symptoms and the comparison group the least.
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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We do know that in 1991, women who sought help from Refuges indicated that
90% of their children had witnessed violence and that 50% of these children
had themselves experienced abuse. Based on data recorded as part of the
Hamilton Abuse Intervention Pilot Project (HAIPP) we also know that children
were present during 87% of the incidents in which their parent was victimised,
and that the children themselves were either the accidental or direct targets of
violence in almost one in five of all recorded incidents
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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“The small but steadily growing number of empirical studies undertaken in this
area
reveal that children who are exposed to such emotionally and anxiety promoting
events as wife abuse, are more likely than children who are not, to develop short-
term, and possibly long-term adjustment difficulties”
“More than three quarters of the Refuge children (88.2%) were reported
as having
behavioural problems severe enough to fall within the clinical range.”
(HAIPP)
“That for many children, witnessing the abuse of their mothers is not an
isolated
incident. Many children, over an indefinite period of time, witness both the
physical and psychological victimisation of a caregiver” BY TANIA POCOCK*
AND FIONA CRAM 2011
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Children who are traumatized by witnessing violence suffer from health,
development, and emotional problems that hinder their growth and potential
’(Police Manager’s Guild,1997)
Effects:
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -Numerous research like (Pynoos and Eth –
1984, ……. points to this as a the effects of witnessing, experiencing and living
with family violence.
Internalized Effects- withdrawn, anxious.
Externalized Effects -aggressive, delinquent
Experience loss of safety and control
Fearful and untrusting of others
Anxious and insecure
Emotionally needy
More likely to have poor school attendances
Struggle to interact with peers and adults
(Outcomes do have to be seen contextually as situations or transient existence
that contribute to isolation in a child’s environment can impact on the results
researched.)
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Many studies have described regressive and maladaptive responses that
accompany events,
•such as enuresis,
•sleep disturbances,
•temper tantrums,
•flashbacks,
•dissociation,
•anxiety and psychosomatic disorders,
•and passive and aggressive behaviors
(Fantuzzo & Lindquist, 1989, Horowitz, 1986, Silvern & Kaersvang, 1989)
Other long term effects are intergenerational cycles of repeating the
patterns. Egeland, Jacobvitz, & Sroufe, 1998, Herrenkohl, Herrenkohl, &
Toedter, 1983 all state that ‘violence observed by children has a high probability
of being reenacted later in life.’
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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SO HOW DOES THIS ALL HAPPEN AND WHY?
Anatomical/Physiological structure of child development
Fight or Flight Syndrome
In context of witnessing
Domestic Violence
Fear produces ‘adrenaline’ by
activating
appropriate neurons
Fires up muscle activity ready
for action
Children are tense, watchful
and anxious
Utilise survival brain constantly
Cortex activity is ‘nil’, therefore
remains undeveloped.
Children protective of carer, do
not physically develop normally
– developmental delay
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
Neurons being stimulated
Start of any brain activity
Myelin sheaths store external information.
Layers wrap around nerve pathways.
The more stimulation/the more layers form.
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Structure of The Brain
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust 17
Cortex is responsible
for:
Rationalising events
Making sense of their
environment
Centre for empathy,
respect and relationship
Building skills
Thinking out
processes
Affection and
attachment
Security and safety
Limbic is responsible for: *
Survival. More primitive brain
Fear response
Emotion
Reaction and immediate actions
Directs blood flow to parts of body
that enable
it to act accordingly
Midbrain is
responsible for:
oMemory
oStores information
oDictates how body will
respond to situation
oActivates muscle
activity
Brain Stem is responsible for:
Automatic body systems
Centre for automatic nervous
system
Regulates breathing, blood
flow, heart beats
The Psychology and Physiology of Trauma
•Neural systems lay down myelin
sheaths to
reinforce information for the brain.
•After a period of time, this information
is then
consolidated and stored for further use.
•With no cortex activity, there is no
empathy, no
sense of relationship-building, no
respect for
others, no appreciation of
consequences of actions
and no self realisation
•Children operate entirely on survival
mode as their
do their ‘battered carer’
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref:
Brainwave Trust 18
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
Areas of brain being stimulated
in normal brain Brain not being stimulated
With pruning only the pathways used regularly and frequently remain and
become hard wired. Those not used are lost. It becomes harder to recall,
and the more mature brain is less sensitive to experience and less likely to
change.
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Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
20 Bruce Perry & Brainwave Trust Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai)
ADRENALINE
Q.What is this?
A. It is a natural substance produced by the brain in times of crisis.
Q. Why do we need it?
A. Human beings all produce adrenaline to fire up muscles and body to either
‘fight or flight’. To survive ,our ancestors needed it to get themselves into
‘survival mode’
Q. How does this relate to family violence?
A. On going family violence means children produce adrenaline all the time
when frightened, scared, feel they are in danger, anxious for their mother,
ready to run away from violence and abuse.
Q. Why is bad to have adrenaline constantly??
A. Too much adrenaline means children and young people cannot function in a
normal way. They become addictive to it and do not feel normal or function
in every day life without it.
Q. How do they then produce it?
A. By becoming agitated, commit crime, put themselves at risk, create crisis,
AOD, do violence, suicidal behavior.
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref:
Brainwave Trust 21
Adrenaline
Normal
Adrenaline
Abnormal
Crisis range
Crisis range
Normal functional
Level-5 crisis over
6mth period
Normal functional
Level – 2 crisis
over
6 mth period
22 Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref:
Brainwave Trust
1.
2.
1. 2. 3. 4.
5.
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
More recent research(Dr Bruce Perry)
Shows that:
At about age 11 – brain development undergo
changes
There is a period of profoundness at this stage
Between 11 – 17 children have no real cortex
activity
Operate entirely from their Limbic or survival brain
Brain development can be said to be complete at
about age 25
More recent research(Dr Bruce Perry)
More recent research(Dr Bruce Perry)
Shows that:
At about age 11 – brain development undergo changes
There is a period of profoundness at this stage
Between 11 – 17 children have no real cortex activity
Operate entirely from their Limbic or survival brain
Brain development can be said to be complete at about age 25
Exposure to family violence, and such traumatic events can
leave lasting effects
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Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Impacts from the Environment on that development
‘In 2002/2003 Police attended 49,682 incidents of family violence.
Approximately 55,000 children were present at these incidents.’(Child Witness
of Violence within their Families Initiative, MSD – 2005)
The Te Rito Document(2002) ….’general studies show that children experiencing
family violence tend to:
Develop severe cognitive and behavioral problems
Become violent as an adolescent, and
Continue the cycle of violence.(Inter generational violence)
Conclusions reached by Cram & Pocock(Children of Battered Women), are that
the children of battered women have a high level of behavioral problems that
directly relates back to their family context, and the nature of their stressful
circumstances.
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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In majority of child abuse cases, domestic violence is also a factor
Therefore children not only witness violence but also experience violence.
Witnessing violence to other adults or children in the family mean that fear,
intimidation is exerted and maintained within the children themselves, even
though they might not be directly connected.
This all results in children carrying the seeds of violence into the next
generation.
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Inter generational Violence •Straus, Gelles, and Steinmetz(1980) ..’concluded that sons who observe violent
fathers have a 1,000% greater chance of repeating this abuse with their own spouses than do sons of non violent homes.’ Rosenberg(1985)p.10, reported
that ..’females who are exposed were socialized to accept traditional views of
women’s roles and may become trapped in a violent relationship.’
Current evidence shows that witnessing family violence has much the same effects as direct
violence((Edleson, 1999). Attachment issues arise when children are caught in the cross fire
of a turbulent relationship between parents(Jaffe et al, 1990,p.466)
One of the factors have been found to be associated with increased risk of child abuse (Mrazek and Haggerty 1994; Browne et al 1989): • domestic violence between caregivers
Children’s Brain- Good Actions from Children’s Environment
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Home is a safe place
Pacific Island Evaluation(To'alepai)
Respect is not modeled
Vio
lence is O
K
Mak
ing
mis
take
s is
pai
nfu
l
Pacific Island Evaluation – To’alepai
What Happens when
Children learn
Children’s Brain- Bad Actions from Children’s Environment
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Violence is a way to respond to problems
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai)
Actions of Child Learnt From Their Environment
Normal to have both lots of responses
Loving
Destroys toys Unsettled, not secure
Unusual Protectiveness of parent
Good Actions
Bad Actions
30 Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai)
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Resilience of Children
“Outcome of Children seen after One parent killed the Other” says that between
one quarter and one third of these children were known to have been exposed
to previous domestic violence, were seen to have overt problems with regard to
behavior or their emotions or were bullies or victims. Between two thirds and
three quarters were not
Sternberg, et al.(Child Abuse & Neglect) argues that attachments change and
may be valuable for children living in challenging circumstances, if children have
alternative sources of emotional support. She also suggests that results are
consistent with the theory of how IWM(Internal Working Models) are dynamic
reflections of current status of relationships.
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Children witnessing violence is widely known as ‘children that have been allowed to see or hear violence’(Domestic Violence Act 1995)
3. Child Youth & Family Act 1989 ’a person psychologically abuses a child if that person a) Causes or allows the child to see or hear the physical, sexual, or psychological abuse of a person
with whom the child has a domestic relationship, or b)Puts the child, or allows the child to be put at real risk of seeing or hearing that abuse occurring.’
Legislative Requirements
1. Domestic Violence Act -1995 Regulations 26,27,30 & 31 have the following objective:
‘..of assisting those children to deal with the effects of domestic violence.’ ‘The
structure and content of proposed programs have to be designed and delivered within a framework which research, theory and best practice have shown to be safe and effective.’
2. Care of the Children Act 20005 – Section 5, subsection e) states under Principles relevant to child’s welfare and best interests…’the child’s
safety must be protected and, in particular, he or she must be protected from all forms of violence(whether by members of his or her family, family group, whanau, hapu, or iwi, or by other persons)’
Pacific Beliefs on Wellbeing:
1. These are around the following:
2. Spiritual
3. Physical
4. Emotional
5. Mental
6. Cultural
Each connects with the other
One does not function alone, it affects the function of the other
It then affects the whole person as a complete entity
Every action is done within a relationship with others, their
environment ,societal and global
Operate in a space that relates – the va
Children are an external sign of how well the family is doing, signature
of a code of behaviour learnt from their elders
Children are seen as the future of any culture. For one that is
dependant on oral knowledge and learning by observation, it becomes
vital to pass on generational knowledge
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Child abuse does not exist out side family violence Child abuse and domestic violence co exist- hence the term family violence. Some Pacific people do not like the word ‘family’ to be together with ‘violence’
Pacific families no longer can access, let alone have positive parenting models in
traditional ways of bringing up children.
Pacific families no longer have social structures to provide multi attachments for the
children
Pacific families no longer have the social structures to support them
Pacific families are becoming smaller and tending towards the nuclear family
structure
Pacific families are isolated
Pacific families have only 1 parent
Pacific families have no role models for the children
Samoan proverb on child rearing:
“O tama a manu e fafaga i fuga o laau, a o tama a tagata e fafaga i
upou”
‘Animals and birds feed their young on flowers and fruits, but the
children of humankind are fed with words’
This confirms the importance of oral communication and role modelling
behaviour as main form of intergenerational passing on of cultural
knowledge and a code of behaviour expected
This also refers to nurturing children and feeding their well being
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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What Are You Putting Into Your Children’s Cups
To Drink From?
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
An example of how Pacific can be approached in
relation to nurturing and
teaching their children.
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Pasifika Perspective
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
Cultural variations to ways Pacific raise children involves the following.
These are beliefs and values that can dilute with generations of New Zealand born.
•Sense of identity
•And sense of belonging.
•Children are part of a whole. They are not adults automatically by age 17
•Carry the future of cultural beliefs and values
•Older teach the younger
•Learn and live to a certain code of behavior where respect is the most valued.
•Status and well being of the family/aiga/fanau is the responsibility of each
generation reaching adulthood.
•Children have to be schooled to be respectful .
•Their lives will be enriched when the collective is well looked after.
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Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Communal family dynamics with large numbers of children present in a setting
mean that more children witness violence on a regular basis
Violence is more easily normalised and minimised with large numbers
There is disconnection by parents and general lack of knowledge on why a
young person growing up in an environment of violence can do serious violence
themselves, even though they might not have experienced physical violence
Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust
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Summary/Conclusion
Children are vulnerable and become the ‘invisible’ victims of adult violence.
Numerous research in New Zealand and overseas confirm that.
A brain that is set for life happens at early age
The environment of a child is critical to the well being and future potential of that
child. This then puts the entire responsibility and obligation on the adults in the family
to ensure that child grows in a nurturing environment
The cycle of intergenerational violence can start or finish within one child
The laws of New Zealand recognise the harm that can be done, and are regulated
to protect and address issues for children witnessing violence
Cultures that are collective in nature are particularly susceptible to place a high focus
on relationships. The protocols on children can change when family environment
changes with migration and dislocation