CHILDREN WITNESSING VIOLENCE - Social Service...

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CHILDREN WITNESSING VIOLENCE Actions ‘Now’ Determine What Adults They Will Be Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust 1

Transcript of CHILDREN WITNESSING VIOLENCE - Social Service...

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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

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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

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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

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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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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).

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.)

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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.’

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SO HOW DOES THIS ALL HAPPEN AND WHY?

Anatomical/Physiological structure of child development

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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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At birth At 3 years 14 years

Pacific Island Evaluation (To'alepai) ref: Brainwave Trust

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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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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.

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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.

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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

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Children’s Brain- Good Actions from Children’s Environment

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Home is a safe place

Pacific Island Evaluation(To'alepai)

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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

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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)

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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)

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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.

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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)’

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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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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

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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

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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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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

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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

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E Thank you

S Fa’afetai lava ,

T Malo ‘aupito,

C Meitaki maata,

N Fakaaue,

F Vinaka vakalevu