Introduction

This chapter outlines the literatures on the impacts on children of exposure to domestic violence between parents. It suggests that there is scope to synthesize findings from longitudinal and cross-sectional studies that look for psychological effects with more qualitative research that explores children's agency. The chapter also suggests that there is a need to avoid constructing children's responses to exposure to domestic violence too narrowly, either as negative psychological effects or as positive acts of resilience with little ambiguity in between. Using the work of Dryden et al., it highlights the need for a more gendered analysis of young men's responses to exposure to domestic violence that includes the reproduction of aggression in intimate relationships. The chapter explains the case of Andrew, a young man who provided his life story to the From Boys to Men project, to illustrate the potential ambiguity of outcomes when young men assume positions as protectors in families.