Previous studies have reported that boys and girls react differently after witnessing domestic violence. Boys who were exposed to domestic violence were more likely than boys not exposed to abuse their partners later on in life. Additionally, girls exposed to domestic violence were more likely than girls not exposed to become victims of abuse themselves. This study investigated whether there were measurable gender differences in self-esteem, depression, and behavioral functioning in 45 elementary school-aged children (21 males and 24 females) from 3 schools in kindergarten through fifth grade, who witnessed domestic violence. The results indicate that higher levels of symptoms indicative of post-traumatic stress were associated with greater numbers of depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem for boys who had witnessed domestic violence. These relations were not evident in the models investigating predictor of self-esteem and depression for girls who had witnessed domestic violence. Explanations given for the findings are that maybe boys exhibit stronger emotional reactions to domestic violence than girls do or that girls display better awareness and emotional processing of their trauma. Future comparative studies are recommended. References