Anonymous asked this question on 5/3/2000:

please how does spousal abuse experienced by a child affect the child's behaviour parten and between what age is exposure of a child to such abuse most dangerous and why. thank you.

Cntrygrl gave this response on 5/4/2000:

A child's behavior pattern is affected by abuse in that the child "sees" and "hears" everything....they retain what they hear and see, especially in the circumstance(s) of abuse....pushing, shoving, screaming, etc. When a child grows up in this type of environment, he/she believes truly that this is "normal" behavior...this is what all families do....when a child is brought up with such thoughts, they know nothing else so therefore, they too grow up to be abusers, criminals, rapists, etc. Abuse affects a child tremendously!! As far as age is concerned, I feel the age that is far worse than any other, is the formative years, between 2 through the teen years. Yes, even teens are affected by abuse, just the same as a younger child. When a child witnesses abuse in any form, they retain and repress what they have seen and/or heard, but their anger, and sometimes guilt over that situation, shows up in several different ways as I stated above. They "act out" what has been repressed...guilt, anger, hurt.....I do hope this helps you out, even just a bit. Pls. let me know if I can be of any further help to you, and good luck with your paper!! Take care!

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