Domestic Violence, Developing Brains, and the Lifespan New Knowledge from Neuroscience By Lynn Hecht Schafran Tcom and watch First Impressions: environmental exposure, expressed by children of different ages. Exposure to Violence and a Child’s (15 minutes) such as exposure to IPV, Enduring Effects of Abuse and Develop- ing Brain causes children to Adverse Experi- ences in Childhood: featuring Dr. Bruce Perry, senior repeatedly mount the “fight Convergence of Evidence from fellow of the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston, Texas,1 and or flight” reaction. Although and Epide- miology” is an article Dr. Linda Chamberlain, founding this response may be neuroscientists, pediatricians, physicians, director, Alaska Family Violence adaptive in the short term, public health experts who assessed Prevention Proj- ect,2 available at repeated activation . . . findings of the long-running watch?v=brVOYtNMmKk.3 results in pathologic Childhood Experiences (ACE) study in changes in multiple systems context of the new knowledge from The New England Journal of Medi- over time; some ence. The ACE questionnaire recently published an article cine titled “Silent Victims—An questions about childhood exposure Epidemic of Child- hood Exposure domestic violence and adult The First Impressions: Exposure to Vio- After reviewing the more than to Domestic Violence.” It called on lence and a Child’s Developing Brain healthcare providers to under- responses from the mostly white, video starts with Dr. Perry stand the prevalence and educated sample, they wrote: explaining that contrary to what neurobiological consequences of was long believed, neu- roscience children’s exposure to domestic [T]he detrimental effects of shows that the brains of babies and violence and take action to young children are sponges that mitigate it. soak up and are shaped by everything in their environment, Childhood IPV [Intimate including the harm of exposure to Part- ner Violence] exposure domestic violence. Dr. Linda has been repeatedly linked to Chamberlain, founding director of higher rates of myriad the Alaska Family Violence physical health problems in Preven- tion Project,, explains the children. Altered neuroendo- evolution of her understanding crine stress response may be that even babies and young one important mechanism children are impacted by exposure accounting for this to domestic violence and how that correlation. Highly stress- ful impact is experienced and
Domestic Violence, Developing Brains, and the Lifespan New Knowledge from Neuroscience By Lynn Hecht Schafran Tcom and watch First Impressions: Exposure to Violence and a Child’s Develop- ing Brain (15 minutes) featuring Dr. Bruce Perry, senior fellow of the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston, Texas,1 and Dr. Linda Chamberlain, founding director, Alaska Family Violence Prevention Proj- ect,2 available at watch?v=brVOYtNMmKk.3 The New England Journal of Medi- cine recently published an article titled “Silent Victims—An Epidemic of Child- hood Exposure to Domestic Violence.” It called on healthcare providers to under- stand the prevalence and neurobiological consequences of children’s exposure to domestic violence and take action to mitigate it. Childhood IPV [Intimate Part- ner Violence] exposure has been repeatedly linked to higher rates of myriad physical health problems in children. Altered neuroendo- crine stress response may be one important mechanism accounting for this correlation. Highly stress- ful environmental exposure, such as exposure to IPV, causes children to repeatedly mount the “fight or flight” reaction. Although this response may be adaptive in the short term, repeated activation . . . results in pathologic changes in multiple systems over time; some The First Impressions: Exposure to Vio- lence and a Child’s Developing Brain video starts with Dr. Perry explaining that contrary to what was long believed, neu- roscience shows that the brains of babies and young children are sponges that soak up and are shaped by everything in their environment, including the harm of exposure to domestic violence. Dr. Linda Chamberlain, founding director of the Alaska Family Violence Preven- tion Project,, explains the evolution of her understanding that even babies and young children are impacted by exposure to domestic violence and how that impact is experienced and expressed by children of different ages. Enduring Effects of Abuse and Adverse Experi- ences in Childhood: Convergence of Evidence from and Epide- miology” is an article neuroscientists, pediatricians, physicians, public health experts who assessed findings of the long-running Childhood Experiences (ACE) study in context of the new knowledge from ence. The ACE questionnaire questions about childhood exposure domestic violence and adult After reviewing the more than responses from the mostly white, educated sample, they wrote: [T]he detrimental effects of