Substance abuse, domestic violence, and child abuse are all intricately linked. In this guide, you will learn how substance abuse can lead to domestic violence and child abuse and cause a perpetuating problem that affects generations in families.
Domestic violence refers to the intentional use of physical, sexual, or psychological force by a member of the family or an intimate partner against another. Often, it is used as a form of control.
The victims of child abuse and domestic violence often struggle with addiction. Unfortunately, many of them struggle with access to the treatment and rehabilitation services that they need to overcome the trauma that they suffered at the hand of a family member.
That said, domestic violence is one of the most abusive patterns. It is often linked to the impulsivity that comes with substance abuse and addiction. It is essential that you - either as the victim or as the abuser - finds ways to break the cycle of addiction and violence through a professional treatment and recovery program.
In many cases, domestic violence involves a pattern of harmful and abusive behavior in a relationship. It is used by intimate partners or older adults to gain and maintain control and power over other people.
In combination with a substance use disorder involving alcohol and drugs, it can quickly escalate and even lead to child abuse. It can also cause dangerous situations, in which the victims have a difficult time get away from.
On the other hand, if you suffered domestic violence or child abuse, there is a high risk that you might stat abusing these intoxicating and mind altering substances. Research studies, for instance, have shown that women who struggled with abuse and violence have 15 times as high a likelihood as those who did not to abuse alcohol as well as 9 times as likely to start abusing drugs.
However, this does not necessarily mean that domestic violence and child abuse is physical in nature. In some cases, it can constitute other forms of harm that are designed to ensure that the abuser overpowers their victim and keeps them in fear. Some of the different types of domestic violence and abuse include but are not limited to:
There are also various behaviors and habits that can constitute domestic violence and abuse. They include:
In many cases, domestic violence has many negative effects on the caregivers and parents involved. However, it can also have effects on the children who are exposed to such violence in their homes.
Research studies have reported that such children might experience substance abuse and addiction, poor health, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and many other negative consequences.
In the same way, the children may become aggressive and act out. Unfortunately, most parents - particular those who are struggling with substance abuse at the same time - might not be able to connect the domestic violence to the behavior that their children are engaging in. in most cases, families that are affected by these problems tend to isolate themselves from society and from other friends and family members while trying to hide the things that are happening in the home environment.
Research studies have also shown that there is a link between child abuse and domestic violence. This connection is so common that more than 15 million children in the United States are exposed to domestic violence every year. In many cases, young children comprise the great majority of people who are exposed to such incidents.
Evidence has also suggested that there are many different factors that can predict the risk of domestic violence and child abuse. These include but are not limited to substance abuse and addiction, socioeconomic status, and having a history of parental violence.
Every form of domestic violence and child abuse originates from the desire of the abuser to overpower and control the victim. Substance abuse and addiction has also been linked to such violence and abuse.
If you abuse alcohol and drugs and are under their effects, there is a high likelihood that you might lose control of your inhibitions. As a result, it is probable that you might engage in abusive behavior. In fact, drug use is so linked with domestic violence that almost 80 percent of all crimes involving domestic violence and abuse arise from substance abuse.
When you use these intoxicating substances, they will rewire the chemical structure, functioning, and makeup of your brain. This is in spite of the future consequences and harmful behaviors that might arise as a result. Over time, this could lead to controlling, violent, and irrational behavior in your relationships.
In the same way, it is important to keep in mind that domestic violence and addiction share several characteristics, including but not limited to:
It is also important to remember that the risk of child abuse and domestic violence will increase if both parties struggle with substance abuse and addiction. It might be difficult, for instance, if the victim is under the influence of drugs and alcohol to determine the level of danger that they are in at the hands of their abuser.
If you are in this situation, you will also have a difficult time protecting and defending yourself from the attacks from your partner. In the same way, you might not be able to ask for help from an external party.
Over time, the domestic violence and abuse will turn into a vicious cycle. This is because you as the victim might not be willing to report the violence due to fears that your partner might retaliate financially, emotionally, or physically.
If you leave this condition untreated, it can continue perpetuating unhealthy dynamics in your relationship. Over time, it could even give rise to other negative consequences, including but not limited to child abuse and neglect.
There are many different types of domestic violence. They include:
When abusive sexual contact, it can be as a result of rape, unfounded accusations of infidelity, treating another individual in a manner that is sexually derogatory, withholding sex, controlling the use of contraception and condoms, and forcing a partner to terminate a pregnancy of give birth prematurely.
Sexual abuse can be attempted or completed. It refers to acts that involve people who are unable to understand the condition and nature of the act, to actively decline their participation, and to communicate their unwillingness in engaging in these sexual acts.
On the other hand, economic violence refers to attempts by the abuser to keep their victim dependent on them financially. For instance, the abuser could try to maintain absolute control over the financial resources available - including the earned income of the victim, controlling the resources that they receive through social security and public assistance, withholding access to money and financial resources, forbidding them from attending school or going to work, and so on.
Physical violence is one of the most visible forms of domestic violence and child abuse. It involves the intentional use of force of a physical nature that has the potential to cause harm, injury, disability, and death. Examples of this type of violence include shooting, stabbing, punching, kicking, biting, hitting, slapping, shoving, spanking, choking, grabbing, pushing, and restraining the victim from leaving at their own accord.
Through emotional and psychological violence, the abuser will cause the victim to suffer trauma through coercive tactics, threats of acts, and actual acts. They might control and humiliate the victim, deliberately make them feel embarrassed or diminished, isolate them from their family and friends, stalking them, or threatening suicide and self-harm.
Child abuse is another form of domestic violence. Also known as child maltreatment, it involves both neglect and abuse. It is linked to domestic violence and entails any failure to act or action on the part of caregivers and parents which could result in harm to children. It could also include emotional and physical harm, death, sexual exploitation and abuse, and psychological abuse.
This problem is so common that the Department of Health and Human Services reports that over 1 million children are abused every year in the United States. unfortunately, this figure is not comprehensive because it does not account for the children who were abused more than one time within the same year as well as the large number of cases of child abuse that are not reported.
The effects of domestic violence, substance abuse, and child abuse are far reaching. If you are a victim of the violence or abuse, for instance, it is highly likely that you will start struggling with mental health disorders. This means that you will neutrally require intensive treatment and rehabilitation services to be able to overcome the trauma that you suffered as a victim.
Some of the issues that might arise as a result of domestic violence and child abuse include but are not limited to:
In many cases, substance abuse also leads to domestic violence and child abuse. In the process, it creates and maintains a vicious cycle of violence and abuse. This is because children who were exposed to domestic violence and substance abuse might end up becoming involved in cases of abuse and violence both as perpetrators and victims during their teenage years as well as into their adulthood.
For instance, boys who witness or experience domestic violence and child abuse have twice as high a likelihood as those who did not to abuse children and their own partners during their teens and adulthood.
Additionally, there is a link between child abuse, domestic violence and crime later on in life. This is because children who were abused have 9 times as high a likelihood as those who were not to engage in criminal activity. Similarly, children who suffered from such violence and abuse might exhibit violent and aggressive behaviors.
The victims of child abuse and domestic violence also have a high probability of perpetrating young violence - up to 11 percent for boys and 6 percent for girls - and young adult domestic violence.
The important thing to keep in mind is that domestic violence - whether verbal, emotional, psychological, sexual, or physical - is among the most direct and harmful forms of violence. When children are exposed to it or abused directly, they might end up struggling later on in their lives.
In case you suffered from or witnessed domestic violence and child abuse at the hands of a substance using partner or parent, it is essential that you seek help as soon as possible.
There are treatment and rehabilitation programs available that can help you establish the recovery plan that will ensure that you move forward with your life and away from the dangerous and toxic relationships in your life. These programs and many other resources for child abuse and domestic violence can also help you find healing and safety.
