The Facts on Children and Domestic Violence

Pregnancy and Domestic Violence

• Each year about 324,000 pregnant women in the U.S. are battered by the men in their lives.x
• Complications of pregnancy, including low weight gain, anemia, infections, and first and
  second trimester bleeding are significantly higher for abused women xi, xii, as are maternal rates
  of depression, suicide attempts, tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use.xiii

                                              
i  U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, A Nation’s Shame: Fatal Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States: Fifth Report, 1995
ii  Carlson, Bonnie E. (1984). Children's observations of interpersonal violence. Pp. 147-167 in A.R. Roberts (Ed.) Battered women and their families (pp. 147-167). NY: Springer. Straus, M.A. (1992). Children as witnesses to marital violence: A risk factor for lifelong problems among a nationally representative sample of American men and women. Report of the Twenty-Third Ross Roundtable. Columbus, OH: Ross Laboratories.
iii  Strauss, Murray A., Gelles Richard J., and Smith, Christine. 1990. Physical Violence in American Families; Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. 
iv  U.S. Department of Justice, Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends, March 1998
v  Strauss, Murray A., Gelles Richard J., and Smith, Christine. 1990. Physical Violence in American Families; Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
vi  Singer, M.I., Miller, D.B., Guo, S., Slovak, K & Frieson, T.  1998.  “The Mental Health Consequences of Children’s Exposure to Violence.” Cleveland, OH: Cuyahoga County Community Health Research Institute, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University.
vii  Jaffe, P. and Sudermann, M., “Child Witness of Women Abuse: Research and Community Responses,” in Stith, S. and Straus, M., Understanding Partner Violence: Prevalence, Causes, Consequences, and Solutions. Families in Focus Services, Vol. II. Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations, 1995.
viii  Wolfe, D.A., Wekerle, C., Reitzel, D. and Gough, R., “Strategies to Address Violence in the Lives of High Risk Youth.” In Peled, E., Jaffe, P.G. and Edleson, J.L. (eds.), Ending the Cycle of Violence: Community Responses to Children of Battered Women. New York: Sage Publications. 1995.
ix  Graham-Bermann, Sandra A and Julie Seng.  2005.  “Violence Exposure and Traumatic Stress Symptoms as Additional Predictors of Health Problems in High-Risk Children.”  Journal of Pediatrics.  146(3):309-10.
x  Gazmararian JA, Petersen R, Spitz AM, Goodwin MM, Saltzman LE, Marks JS.  2000.  “Violence and Reproductive Health: Current Knowledge and Future Research Directions.”  Maternal and Child Health Journal.  4(2):79-84.
xi  Parker, B., McFarlane, J., & Soeken, K. 1994.  “Abuse During Pregnancy: Effects on Maternal Complications and Infant Birthweight in Adult and Teen Women.” Obstetrics & Gynecology.  841: 323-328.
xii  McFarlane, J. Parker B., & Soeken, K. 1996.  “Abuse during Pregnancy: Association with Maternal Health and Infant Birthweight.” Nursing Research. 45:32-37.
xiii  McFarlane, J., Parker, B., & Soeken, K. 1996.  “Physical Abuse, Smoking and Substance Abuse During Pregnancy: Prevalence, Interrelationships and Effects on Birthweight.” Journal of Obstetrical Gynecological and Neonatal Nursing. 25: 313-320.