Assessment of Aggressiveness and Submissiveness in Children due to Domestic Violence

Abstract

Introduction: Woman is a backbone of any society. A healthy woman can make her home a heaven. Butsince ages woman has been subjected to domestic violence. Domestic violence is a world wide phenomenon.It has its roots in the history of the world. A woman subjected to this looses her self esteem and self satisfactiontowards life. In case of domestic violence, normally it is the woman who is focused upon. And in this processthe children who witness domestic violence on day to day basis are forgotten. Even though the child is a bystander in witnessing domestic violence, it affects the psyche of the child which cannot be ignored. Childhoodexposure to domestic violence has to be seriously looked into as the effects of violence has great impact onthe childs mind. Emotions like anger, fear, hatred, anxiety, stress, etc., beside social incompetence, academicfailure, increased emotional problem are the resultant factors.

Aims and Objectives: The aim and objectiveof this research was to elucidate and assess aggressiveness and submissive in children due to the incidents ofdomestic violence.

Materials and Methods: This study was undertaken to assess the aggressiveness andsubmissiveness of children who are witnesses to domestic violence. For this study, 30 girls and 30 boys in theage group of 10 to 15 years were selected. A self-developed questionnaire was used to assess theiraggressiveness and submissiveness. The questionnaire was divided into three parts based on especiallydesigned scale, denoting Mild Aggressiveness/Mild Submissiveness, Moderate Aggressiveness/ModerateSubmissiveness and Severe Aggressiveness/Severe Submissiveness. t test was applied to check thedifferences between aggressiveness and submissiveness of the respondents.

Result: The results showed thatboth the girls and boys showed signs of submissiveness and aggressiveness, respectively. Surprisingly, girlsalso showed signs of severe aggressiveness.

Conclusion: Boys showed more of aggression than that of thegirls whereas the girls displayed submissive behavior due to the incidents of domestic violence.