The Varied Effects of Violence on Adolescents - Research Paper Example

Violence and its Impact upon Adolescents Introduction Although violence is seen to generally occur in a variety of different forms, it eventual implications are found to all be the same. Violence can be seen to exist in the form of strangers causing harm to others, via the commitment of a number of atrocities such as rape, murder, emotional torture, psychological and physical torture and injury. Of note however is that violence can at times be seen to exist between members of the same family, among close partners and friends, peers or even colleagues. Whenever adolescents are exposed to any form of violence, this can potentially have some very dire effects on them it is critically important to “establish exactly what is violence, the different forms that adolescent violence can potentially take, and the varied effects of violence on adolescents.” What is Violence? According to The term violence first appeared in French at around the beginning of the thirteenth century and was essentially used to characterize a brutal and quick-tempered person. It was also used to describe to indicate a power relationship that is aimed at constraining or subjecting another person. Over the centuries that followed, violence was given a fundamental role by western civilizations where on one had it was seen to quite fiercely denounce the excesses of violence and openly declared it to be illegitimate, However, on the other hand, Western civilization was also seen to give violence a rather elevated position where it was legitimized so as to validate the actions of knights who were forced to shed blood in the noble defense of the orphans and widows as well as defend the just causes of the Christian kings against the Infidels, and trouble makers (Muchembled 7-9). The brutality of all human relations was accepted as being a universal social language in addition to its being considered to be absolutely normal and quite necessary in most western societies up until the seventeenth century. While cultural ideals might have gradually evolved over time, violence is seen to still play a prominent role in modern society and equally affects people of all ages hailing from the different walks of life. The violence perpetrated against the young people is found to be particularly worrying as it can significantly affect their future development and negatively impact the future human society. There are a number of different development models that are used in the assessment of the impact that violence has on a child’s development. These development models are seen to variously include: The Transactional Model of Development: This development model is seen to greatly emphasize the importance of the roles that are seen to be played by both the environment and the child in the determination of the child’s development. The main premise of this model is that as opposed to a child acting within its environment, both the environment and the child mutually end up altering each other. Any positive outcomes from this interaction are largely considered to be a consequence of a nurturing environment having been provided to the child while children in a mostly negative environment are normally thought to be at a rather high risk for later difficulties (Addison-Scott 17). According to this model, it can also be argued that a child’s future cannot be solely and accurately predicted by looking at either a single environmental event or a biological event, the model generally assumes that a child’s development is generally made though a reciprocal and bidirectional interaction between the environment and the child (Addison-Scott 17). The transactional model has been largely criticized for the fact that although it attempts to look at the establishment of bidirectional relationships between the environment and the child, it however fails to try and explain the variance that is usually found to exist between them. It is also pointed out that the transactional model is generally used to emphasize linear environmentalism at the general expense of the more complex interplay that is seen to exist between various dynamic systems. In addition to this, attempts to try and explain the developmental outcomes of the child would actually require a close examination of multiple sources of influence some of which might be found to not be readily accessible (Addison-Scott 17-18). The Ecological Transactional Model of Development: this model postulates that children essentially function within multiple ecologies that tend to not only influence each other, but also tend to influence the child’s development. The impact on a child’s development that is precipitated by exposure to violence is thus best understood by attempting to try and identify not only the mutual influence among the various factors in different ecologies that happen to be surrounding the child, but also identifying the impact of one context with another (interactions) (Addisson-Scott 18). Addison-Scott (26-27), points out that although the research that has been presented pertaining to the biological factors of violence is generally found be compelling, it has found to generally be difficult to be able to sufficiently associate violent behaviors solely with the genetic factor. Biological factors have also been found to appear to be more related to the various physical types of violent behavior. In addition to community violence having all the marked characteristics of aggression and violence, it is also seen to centralized in the affected individuals’ home or neighborhood. Any expose to community violence can generally tend to impact the behavioral functioning of adolescents. Addison-Scott (37), further points out that the psychological impact of this violence can eventually be transferred to an adolescent’s academic and social worlds. The Impact of Political Conflicts Violence on Adolescents Recent decades have been seen to experience increased warfare not only between opposing states but also increased conflicts within the various national borders. As a result of the relatively large demographic of adolescents in these countries, it is evidently clear that this demographic that is commonly referred to as youth are more likely to be affected by the violence resulting from political conflict as a result of their being subjects to increased abuse and child rights violations. During political conflicts, adolescents who are usually under more normal circumstances generally expected to perform a considerable amount of productive work as well as undertake to make a raft of important decisions tend to find themselves constantly torn between sitting in classrooms as is expected of them by the various humanitarian agencies, a situation in which they usually find themselves sitting in classrooms with children that happen to be much younger than themselves, and having to take up the role of defending both the community and various properties such as cattle. Humanitarian agencies generally tend to only offer adolescents aid if they appear to be vulnerable and do not allow them to take any action relating to their defense (Hart 10). Violent conflict is seen to have a significant impact on adolescents are in addition to other things, it is seen to critically cause a breakdown in the existing community and family structures. Displacement as a result of political violence is seen to affect the established social hierarchy in most communities that is built on generation and age, the values which necessitate that elders be held in high regard is generally disregarded as armed adolescents take up increasingly more power (Hart 26-27). Family Violence and its Impact on Adolescents Family violence is usually described as the maltreatment, sexual abuse, mental or physical injury of a child who happen to be under 18 years of age by a person who is mandated to be responsible for the child’s general welfare. Family violence on children can essentially be categorized into two, direct maltreatment of the child or adolescent and exposing the child to witnessing incidences of violence. The effects of an adolescent’s exposure to such violence can in addition to causing physical injury to the adolescent, also cause them to experience cognitive impairment, child depression and anxiety disorders. Kashani (25), points out that a study conducted on 79 inpatient children (33 of which were physically abused and 46 of which acted as the control group) and their parents showed that the physically abused children had relatively higher levels of hopelessness, depression and lower self esteem as compared to the non-abused children. If not addressed early the effects of violence can potentially impact the child’s development and manifest themselves well into the child’s adulthood. According to Haber and Toro (306), parental violence towards adolescents is often seen to begin during the child’s preadolescent years, however there are a number of cases where adolescent-onset parental violence may happen to exist. Haber and Toro also point out that perhaps the most distinguishing factor that can be used to distinguish parent-adolescent violence emanating from parents towards their young children is the ability of these adolescents to be able to initiate or reciprocate violence. To this end, Haber and Toro point out that a recent study found that adolescent violence to be ranging between 7% and 20% (Haber and Toro 307). In a study conducted to try and assess the impact that child maltreatment has on the development of antisocial behavior in adolescents, Smith, Ireland and Thornberry (1115), found that adolescent maltreatment happens to have an array of consequences that can extend to the adolescent’s contact with drugs as well as potential contact with the criminal justice system once these maltreated adolescents become adults. The study also found that neglect, which has historically been perceived as having an insignificant effect on development actually has a comparable range of consequences to the other forms of maltreatment. Of significance to note is that the study also indicated that adolescence maltreatment is closely associated with cases of worsening antisocial behavior, this position is also found to be true even among those adolescents that happened to have been demonstrating earlier behavioral problems. ­­­­­­­­­­ Conclusion Violence affecting children and adolescents has proven to be of great concern and is a complex issue that requires to be carefully understood by all teachers, parents and other adults. Children should carefully be monitored for the portrayal of risk factors such as extreme irritability, intense anger, blow-ups or frequent loss of temper, extreme impulsiveness and their becoming easily frustrated as these can act as warning signs for violent behavior (AACAP 2011). To protect both adolescents and other children, efforts should generally be directed towards the dramatic decreasing of the violence that children and adolescents are exposed to at their homes, within their various communities as well as through the media. Works Cited AACAP. Understanding Violent Behavior In Children and Adolescents. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 55 Dec, 2011. Web. 1 Dec 2013. Addison-Scott, Kecia L. Impact of Exposure to Community Violence on Indicators of Adolescent Academic Performance. ProQuest, 2008, 16-35. Print. Haber, Mason. and Toro, Paul. Parent-Adolescent Violence and Later Behavioral Health Problems Among Homeless and Housed Youth. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 2009, Vol. 79, No. 3, 305–318. Print. Hart, Jason. Years of Conflict: Adolescence, Political Violence and Displacement. Berghahn Books, 2010. Print. Kashani, Javad H, and Wesley D. Allan. The Impact of Family Violence on Children and Adolescents. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publication, 1997. Print. Muchembled, Robert. A history of violence: from the end of the Middle Ages to the present. Cambridge: Polity, 2011. Print. Print. Smith, Carolyn, Ireland, Timothy, and Thornberry, Terence. "Adolescent Maltreatment and Its Impact on Young Adult Antisocial Behavior." Child Abuse & Neglect 29.10 (2005): 1099-1119. Read More