Home Search Sitemap Contact Bookmark

Free Dissertations - Criminology Dissertations

Particularly Poignant Were The Accounts Of Children Becoming Withdrawn , ...

Particularly poignant were the accounts of children becoming withdrawn , another aggressive, and another blaming her mother. All these findings are consistent with the secondary research presented in the first section of this essay.
The interviews provided a surprisingly good response. Some people might be reluctant to admit to the presence of violence in their domestic life, especially if it involves their children, in fear of admitting that they are (directly, or indirectly) causing their child to be unhappy. However, all four respondents answered openly and honestly about their experiences.

Conclusion
This essay has looked into a cross section of the population in the Hammersmith and Fulham area of London. Teenagers and women who were known to have experienced abuse were asked questions about their experiences and both reported feelings of sadness and aggression. A random sample of women with children also revealed that nearly half of the population had experienced a domestic violence act of some kind in their lives.
The findings were consistent with the secondary research, such as the study by Piaget 1972, and Cooper 1999, both of which found that young children had difficulty in play activities and social integration, both at pre-school and primary level. The study by Ballou et al on aggressive teenagers also correlated with the responses from the questionnaires handed out at the youth centre.
It is not possible to say that there are more domestic violence cases in black communities or that they are caused by demographic and stress factors. A study by Richardson et al on the prevalence of domestic violence against women looked for a correlation between demographic factors and domestic violence. They concluded that black women were least likely to have ever experienced domestic violence compared to their white female counterparts.(Richardson et al 2002: 274).
The interview with the British mother found that the violence she had experienced was mostly verbal and did not involve physical force directed at her. Out of the four women she was the only one still to be with her husband with whom she had fought with. This is not consistent with the secondary research presented at the beginning which suggested that more black women stayed with their spouses in fear of what might happen if they left.
Future research might explore the marital status of black women in the Hammersmith and Fulham area and the stability of the family unit. Interviews with more than one member of a family might also be useful in order to gain a different perspective on the same incidents.
To conclude, domestic violence appears to have a negative impact on children and young people. Initial responses might be guilt, fear, sleeplessness and a desire to protect their mother. In pre-school children the learning ability and playfulness is often damaged by the experience of domestic violence.


Thanks