Intimate partner violence (IPV), or more commonly known as domestic violence, places infants and young children at risk for development of trauma symptoms.
Despite the detrimental impact of witnessing intimate partner violence, trauma symptoms are an understudied consequence in young children. In this study, the authors collected maternal reports on mothers’ and children’s posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and IPV yearly, from ages 1 to 7. They found that approximately half of the children studied who were exposed to IPV developed some trauma symptoms, and frequency of IPV witnessed was associated with PTSD symptoms. The authors contend further research is needed.
Read the full study here.