How Does an Abusive Spouse Affect a Family?

The Effects on Family

Regardless of the nature of the abuse, if a spouse is sexually, physically or verbally abusive it will affect the entire family. According to psychcentral.com, people who live with an abusive spouse tend to be isolated from friends and family and keep to themselves at the request of their controlling spouses. Members of these families may constantly live in fear because of how much and how often they witness violence in their homes. According to psychcentral.com, spouses who abuse their partners also tend to abuse their children. It has been found that 50 to 70% of men who assaulted their wives also abused their kids, according to the site.

Effects of an Abusive Spouse on Children

According to psychcentral.com, children who live in homes where there is an abusive spouse have a six times greater chance of committing suicide, a 24% greater chance of committing sexual assault in the future and a 50% greater chance of abusing drugs and alcohol. In addition, sometimes male children go into a rage and kill the spouse for abusing their mother, according to the site. Even if a child is not abused, he or she will be affected, and may commit violent crimes and delinquent behavior in the future as a result. These children may even repeat this type of behavior against their own spouses or girlfriends when they become adults. According to findcounseling.com, many children in abusive families have to grow up faster than their peers and take responsibility for the cooking, cleaning and care of younger children. As a result, they tend to lose their opportunities at having a childhood and suffer from low self-esteem.

General Effects of Domestic Violence on Adults and Children

Kids who live in families that have an abusive spouse tend to have academic problems, behavior problems, and feelings of aggression, agitation, depression, fear, guilt, flashbacks, insomnia and irritability, according to findcounseling.com. Adults who have abusive spouses, or were in abusive families as kids, tend to become alcoholics or abuse alcohol, become depressed, and have sexual problems as well, according to findcounseling.com.

If someone is a victim of any kind of abuse, or if a person has a friend who might be a victim of an abusive spouse, he or she should seek help immediately. The longer the abuse continues, the more damage it does to everyone in the family. Call 911 if someone is in immediate physical danger or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-787-3224.

Resources

• "Understanding the Effects of Domestic Violence"
• Effects of Domestic Violence on Children and Teenagers
• Facts on Domestic Violence