Domestic violence causes ongoing suffering and neurological changes in children, experts warn

Domestic violence has consequences for children’s health, leaving them in a constant state of anxiety and distress, causing neurological, psychological and emotional changes, experts warned this Monday.

According to psychologist Maria Luuro, professor and representative of Portugal at the Ibero-American Association of Legal Psychology, on average, by the age of three, children already have the ability to remember what is happening around them and distinguish between reality and fantasy.

“Parents often think that not having a direct discussion in front of their children has no effect because they don’t realize it, but we know that’s not true, especially because parents often live in a kind of cold war.” “They don’t talk, they’re not happy, and that leaves an impression on the child,” he told an audience of several dozen people at a conference organized by the Oeiras Children and Youth Protection Commission.

The topic was “Reflections on the impact of domestic violence on the development of children and young people”, and the specialist noted that when we talk about domestic violence, we are talking about intra-family violence, “which leaves much deeper consequences”, since the family should be a safe space.

Maria Loro noted that this is sudden and unpredictable violence, in which the child is constantly waiting for something to provoke an attack of violence, as if he was always “in tension.”

According to the psychologist, the child seems to be in survival mode, which causes biological, as well as psychological and emotional changes.

“Research shows that children who are victims of long-term abuse actually show changes from a neuroanatomical and neurological perspective precisely because they maintain constant vigilance, which keeps them on edge,” he explained, adding that in such situations the body produces more adrenaline, similar to what happens when someone has to defend themselves or “lives in an atmosphere of tension and terror.”

Maria Louro advocates for greater attention to children’s behavior, warning that when a child is unable to communicate, it is often “sharp” changes in behavior that can help identify a problem.

As an example, he cited several cases of hyperactivity/attention deficit disorder, which “arise precisely because of completely inappropriate behavior, great impulsivity” as a result of a “violent context at home.”

According to the specialist, the consequences of domestic violence can also in the short term cause nightmares, anger, guilt, shame, social isolation, depression, attacks on other children or psychosomatic complaints.

Pediatrician and representative of the hospital’s Center for Support of Children and Young People at Risk, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Oriental (Hospital São Francisco Xavier), Ana Caldeira, drew attention to the concept of toxic stress, “a biological response to severe and prolonged stress.” adversity, especially when at least one stable and affective connection is missing,” which can cause “changes in brain architecture.”

Ana Caldeira emphasized that this toxic stress “negatively impacts the development” of children and young people, highlighting that “much of the brain’s architecture is formed during the first three years of life.”

He noted that statistics show that about a third of reported cases of domestic violence were witnessed by children, which carries a risk of exposure to traumatic events or risk of neglect.

According to the pediatrician, the effects vary depending on the age of the child and before the age of three they can cause developmental delays or attachment problems, for example, and between the ages of three and five post-traumatic effects can occur. stress, anxiety, regressive behavior or low self-esteem.

Between the ages of six and 10, there are cases of trauma caused by aggression, bullying, learning difficulties or difficulty relating to peers, while in adolescents it can lead to risky sexual behaviour, aggression, substance abuse or relationship violence.