. International Journal of Play Therapy Vol. 28, Iss. 2,  (Apr 2019): 98-106. DOI:10.1037/pla0000097 Increasingly, domestic violence is being recognized as a major concern for children today. Hamby, Finkelhor, Turner, and Ormrod (2011) of the U.S. Department of Justice discovered that approximately 8.2 million children were exposed to some form of family violence in the past year and 18.8 million over their lifetime as reported by a national survey. Witnessing physical as well as psychological–emotional violence within the family can cause serious detrimental effects to children. Younger children respond to domestic violence by having higher levels of psychological disturbance and display lower self-esteem than do older children. Likewise, other issues related to mental and physical health may manifest. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.