Most abusers tend to isolate their families, which in turn isolates the children from positive role models. In addition, young boys tend to align with their fathers, because our society likes winners and hates losers. Violence becomes the primary method of conflict resolution for these children.

Mike McCarty '90
Domestic Violence Consultant/Former Detective

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Winter 1999

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Question 3: Is crime a product of various social pathologies?

I would purport that there is a correlation between childhood abuse/physical, sexual, violence witnessed in the home.

This is not to say that we have a direct correlation between childhood abuse and adult criminality. If that were the case, then most crime could be eliminated. There are other factors that also contribute to criminality.

Why do some children who are abused or witness abuse grow up to be violent and some do not? Research shows that children raised in violent homes (witnessing abuse) are:

6 times more likely to commit suicide
26 times as likely to commit a sexual assault
57 times as likely to abuse drugs
74 times as likely to commit other crimes against persons

The key is having a positive influence outside of the home. Most abusers tend to isolate their families, which in turn isolates the children from positive role models. In addition, young boys tend to align with their fathers because our society likes winners and hates losers. Violence becomes the primary method of conflict resolution for these children. As a teacher, my wife sees the results of domestic violence in the public school system as a teacher. Typically these children are labeled as having attention deficit disorder and are medicated with Ritalin. A law enforcement officer intervening in a violent home may be the key to breaking the cycle of violence for a child because the child actually sees that what his father is doing is wrong. One of the workshops I facilitate is a survivors' panel.

One of the survivors equates normal with being abused. She witnessed her mother being physically abused, chained to the furnace and ultimately commit suicide. She did not think her husband loved her until he hit her, stabbed her and threw her through a plate glass window. A single police officer went out of his way to help and that made the difference in her life. However, her eldest children, who witnessed the abuse, have been affected by the violence and are extremely violent adults. Her younger children are seemingly well adjusted since they were too young to remember most of what happened.

Mike McCarty '90
Domestic Violence Consultant/Former Detective

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