Introduction
Child maltreatment is a pervasive problem in the United States, as well as other countries. Child maltreatment touches everyone, from the child to the nurse that cares for the child to the entire community. I have chosen to research this problem because of its far reaching effects on the community and its preventable nature.
Research on prevention
Research on the prevention of child maltreatment focuses on home visitation programs, abusive head trauma prevention programs, and parent training programs (Krugman, Lane, & Walsh, 2007). Mikton and Butchart (2009) also concluded that there are four promising intervention, which include: home visitation, parent education, abusive head trauma education, and programs that have multi-components. Krugman, Lane, and Walsh (2007) note that it has been hard to test the effectiveness of these programs because many programs have not integrated robust program evaluation or meticulous research methodology.
Interestingly, laws banning corporal punishment have been looked at as a prevention technique. Sweden was the first country to ban corporal punishment of child by any caregiver and research found that there was a reduction of infant mortality from child abuse (Krugman, Lane, & Walsh, 2007). However, Roberts states that it was not the ban but the change in the attitude towards corporal punishment that caused the reduction in child abuse (as cited in Mikton & Butchart, 2009).
Parent education programs, community child abuse prevention programs, abusive head trauma programs are all promising, however, they have not been studied well. It has been shown that these all decrease the risk factors for child abuse; nonetheless, there is insufficient evidence that these programs ...
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Krugman, S. D., Lane, W. G., & Walsh, C. M. (2007). Update on child abuse prevention. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 19, 711-718.
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Mikton, C., & Butchart, A. (2009). Child maltreatment prevention: a systematic review or reviews. Bulletin of World Health Organization, 87, 353-361.
Newton, A. W., & Vandeven, A. M. (2010). Child abuse and neglect: a worldwide concern. Cerrent Opinion Pediatrics, 22, 226-233.
Sedlak, A.J. (February, 2001). A history of the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and
“Each year, Child Protective Services receives reports of child abuse and neglect involving six million children, and many go unreported” (New Directions). The article New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research, explores the need for research of the long-term affects of child abuse and neglect, not only on the victims, but also on their families, future relationships, and other people out in the community. Current research has brought to life the long-term developmental and biological challenges that abuse victims deal with long after an event occurs. A problem that current researchers face when striving to learn more about the long-term affects of child abuse is a lack of funds. Money drives a lot of things in this world, and research is one of those things. The current funds for this type of research has been spread very thin over numerous organizations that deal with child abuse. In this article, New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research, new ideas for spreading these funds have been talked about and plans have been devised.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 3.3 million referrals for alleged maltreatment were made in 2013. Out of the 3.3 million referrals, 899,000 children were officially documented as being maltreated(Child Abuse & Neglect 2015). Child abuse is the mistreatment of a child. Child abuse is recognized in several forms; physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. Children who experience any form of abuse will tend to withdraw themselves from their peers and sometimes from other family members who are not aware of what is taking place. Child abuse occurs not just in the homes of these children, but can also occur in schools, churches and after school programs. Anywhere a child is present there is a chance that abuse can occur. This paper will review the forms of child abuse, the effects of child abuse, reasons child abuse occurs and possible therapies to bring healing in the parties involved.
For our evidence based practice project, we chose the topic of child maltreatment. We wondered if child maltreatment affects the growth and development of school-age children. “The broad term child maltreatment includes intentional physical abuse or neglect, emotional abuse and neglect, and sexual abuse of children, usually by adults” (Perry, Hockenberry, Lowdermilk & Wilson, 2010, p. 1066). Child Protective Services agencies in the United States estimated that there were 900,000 children who were victims of child maltreatment in 2005. Of these confirmed cases, 17% were victims of physical abuse, 9% were victims of sexual abuse, 63% were victims of neglect, and 7% were victims of emotional abuse. The 2006 estimates indicated that about 1530 children died as a result of maltreatment (Perry, Hockenberry, Lowdermilk & Wilson, 2010, p. 1066). We hypothesized that child maltreatment does adversely affect the growth and development of school-age children.
Research has proven that the statistics of child abuse have risen worldwide. In the United States alone they were over 1,000 child fatalities due to child abuse in 2002(Child). In 2004, The US Department of Health and Human Services estimate that 872,000 children were determined US victims of child abuse. Approximately 17.5 percent of the maltreatment victims were physically abused(Hmurovich). Every year, there are approximately three million children that are involved in cases of child abuse. Of that, about twenty-five percent are just cases of physical abuse(Lansford). The number of abused or neglected children that are killed each year went from 798 in 1985 to 1,185 in 1996(Bean Child). Child abuse is one of the five leading cause of childhood death in the United States. Although there are so many reported cases of abuse, no one will ever know with certainty how many children have or are being abused(Mankiller). Every year, child-protection agencies receive three million referrals of child abuse or neglect involving six million children. The majority of children abused are younger tha...
Iannelli, Vincent, M.D. Facts about Child Abuse. N.p. 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Feb 2014.
Children often learn by observing others and normally while growing up, they all have someone that they look up to. They are normally seen to be innocent at a young age when they do not know any better. But there are many of cases in which children do not have the luxury of being with people that love them and treat them right. In most cases, children get abused and neglected by their parents and/or guardians, urging for Child protective services to step in and save the child. Child maltreatment includes child abuse and child neglect and is a major problem in the United States. The National Bureau of Economic Research states that “Over a million children are victims of maltreatment annually” (Currie & Tekin 2006). Child maltreatment could lead a child down a path of delinquency and more should be done to stop this from happening, and providing better opportunities for children that
“National Child Abuse Statistics." Weblog post. Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.
Child abuse encompasses far more than merely beating or hitting a child. Other, more silent—and even more widespread—forms of abuse exist. Emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and child endangerment are all other forms of abuse that are much more difficult to detect because they seldom lead to visible imprints on a child the way physical abuse can. And the problem is far more pervasive than one might imaging: the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that about five children die as a result of abuse every day. The impact child abuse can have on victims is both extensive and profound. Effects can vary from health issues to developmental and emotional impairments. With heightened awareness of the nature, the implications, and
Child abuse in general is quite complex and at the same time one of the most challenging social issue facing people all around the USA. Child abuse cases have been recorded in all the states of the USA. The cases occur in all areas be it cities, small towns, suburbs, and even in rural areas. The vice also happens in all types of families regardless of the ethnic origin of the family or the even family income (UNICEF, 2015). It is thus important that effort is put into reducing cases of child abuse.
Child abuse in the United States is a growing epidemic. Every year the number of reported cases, and missing children go up. This is caused mostly by lack of education about the different types of child abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Communities need to provide more resources to better educate the public about the types of abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Child abuse and neglect can be lessened by more resources, more education and to reach out to others.
· Sedlak, A. (1990) Technical Amendments to the Study Findings--National Incidence and Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect: 1988. Rockville, MD: Westat, Inc.
Physical abuse must be prevented in today’s society because children deserve to be in a safe environment. A significant factor when it comes to child abuse is being able to notice indicators that would fall under the category of abuse (What is Child Abuse and Neglect? 5)...
Child abuse is a social problem in America that has many contributed factors. Factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect includes poverty, divorce, substance use, lack of education, stress due to unemployment, mental health issues, teenage parent, and a history of child abuse in the family. It took decades for physicians to conclude that parents have been violently assaulting their children. Child abuse, child labor, juvenile delinquency, and similar social questions historically were ethical and moral problems, not strictly medical ones. (Helfer, Kempe, & Krugman, 1997). In 1962, the Journal of American Medical Association published “The Battered-Child Syndrome.” The article transformed society’s views and dates the rediscovery of child abuse as a social problem. Following this article, the U.S. Children’s Bureau adopted the first laws mandating physicians to report any suspicions of abuse and neglect to the police or child welfare. By 1974, some 60,000 cases were reported. In 1980, the number exceeded one million (Myers J. E., 2004).
When the topic of abuse comes up, many different forms of abuse pop into individuals heads. Whether its Physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse or even drug abuse, the list just keeps going. Now take all those different forms abuse and imagine them happening in a family. A father physically abusing his children, a mother verbally berating her daughter about her body image, a child growing up in fear. According to the research by David Wolfe in the Journal of Consulting and clinical Psychology, that the number of children that have suffered a physical injury due to physical abuse is between 1.4 and 1.9 million annually. With such a high number of physical abuse happening to children, one can imagine how high the number of all the