Child Neglect Research Paper

Child neglect can be categorized and described in many different ways, and it also can lead to many negative affects on a victim’s development over time. According to the authors of The Child in Mind neglect is an insidious form of abuse affecting children in a variety of way . . . . Its consequences can be severe and long term, depriving children of the opportunity to recognize their potential in all areas of social functioning, relationships, and educational achievement. (Barker and Hodes 51). Child neglect is something many people do not talk about. It is a situation that can be the root cause of adverse social, mental and emotional developmental issue. Looking into the distinct types of neglect will lead to the discovery of its unfortunate developmental affects. The authors of Child Abuse Sourcebook state, “Neglect is frequently defined in terms of a failure to provide for the child’s basic needs, deprivation of adequate food, clothing, shelter, supervision, or medical care” (Matthews 8).

These issues do not just go away without a change in parenting or caregiving. Adverse mental developmental issues create problems for children as they continue to increase in age. When children experience child neglect, this can have an affect on how they view the world emotionally and mentally. Matthews states, “ persistent stress associated with ongoing maltreatment…the child’s brain may strengthen pathways among neurons that are involved in the fear response…as a result the brain may become wired to view the world as hostile and uncaring” (141) This is why the world will notice younger children running from a stranger or they might not seem to trust many people. Their actions and behavior start to become questionable due to the way they are expressing what they feel. Signs of neglect should not be too hard to notice, because children are not that great at hiding their feelings and