Children often suffer developmental delays in verbal, cognitive, and motor abilities when they live in homes with domestic violence. Learning disabilities are common. Children older than five or six tend to identify with the aggressor and lose respect for the victim. They learn to equate anger with violence and believe that violence is justified. There is evidence that child witnesses of domestic violence carry violent and violence-tolerant roles into their own intimate relationships.
Domination is viewed as the appropriate role for men and subordination the role for women.
Aggressiveness Mistrust Difficulty concentrating Sneakiness Tendency to be overly secretive Hypersensitivity or hypo-sensitivity to pain Anger Fear Inability to express needs Inability to allow others to take care of them Inability to show pain or illness Attempts to meet own needs inappropriately for age Lack of empathy Common Family Dynamics in Special Needs Families Parents angry and frustrated with child, each other, mental health professionals. Mother is most traumatized by child's rejection. Marriage may be troubled because mother bears the brunt of child's pathology, while father typically does not see the pathology and blames the wife. Child attempts to re-enact dysfunctional patterns in this home, symbolically or concretely. Healthy siblings resent or even hate the disturbed child, but may not express this to parents.