The Women's Center

Warning Signs

Children exposed to domestic violence can experience:

• general fearfulness, nightmares
• hypervigilance (constant fear of impending danger)
• troubled responses to fear, anger, and sadness
• anxieties around separation and loss
• feelings of powerlessness and defensive responses, including identification with the aggressor
• an exaggerated sense of guilt and feeling responsible for protecting a parent and/or brother or sister
• an attitude that it is not acceptable or safe to feel, be, or behave like a child
• poor conflict resolution skills
• increased physical aggression, acting out