Domestic Violence and Children Mental Health

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Social Pedagogy / Social Work, grade: A, University of Botswana (Social Sciences), course: Master of Social Work, language: English, abstract: The recent interest in children's exposure to domestic violence (DV) has brought about the argument concerning the effects of such experience on their mental health. As a severe societal issue, domestic violence signifies a source of susceptibility aimed at young people and serves as a threat towards attaining constructive outcomes. This study explores developmental-ecological model to increase our knowledge and understanding of children's exposure to domestic violence, (CEDV) in a household. The study used the accessible materials on the incidence of domestic violence to analyse the emotional and behavioral trajectories that result from children early experience of domestic violence in a household. Finally, findings show that there is significant correlation between witnessing violence at home and children mental health.

KEY WORDS:
Domestic violence, children at risk, mental health, intimate partner violence, and children exposed to domestic violence, exposure to domestic violence, children witnessing domestic violence.