In recent years, child abuse has become, for the first time, an issue worthy of much
attention. Child abuse happens everywhere; it is deeply embedded and practiced in many
various cultures and geographical locations. Everyone has his or her own opinion on the
significance of child abuse. To some, abuse merely is a topic that people have become
obsessed with. Many people believe that abuse is only an extreme word for good
discipline. These people are blind to the seriousness of child abuse. There are several very
negative effects that spur from child abuse. These effects are anything but healthy in
reference to the development of a child abused in any way.
Many parents, in every culture, use child abuse as a method of conditioning their
children to behave well. They use severe negative reinforcement too punish their children.
These parents only see the immediate effects of child abuse. Naturally, if a child is beaten
for doing something wrong, they will learn not to do it again. However, abused children
tend to develop many problems later in life.
In some cases, abused children will avoid growing close to people. They feel more
comfortable trying to hide all of their pain and suffering. An approach like this to building
relationships can lead to a lack of the true sense of intimacy and trust. A child will isolate
themselves from others and experience severe loneliness. Abused children are more likely
to bully other children around, isolating themselves from their peers (Judith 117). They
sometimes fall into the pattern of befriending people who will only betray and cause them
more pain.
Abuse to a child can be a source of very painful experiences. Children often handle
these experiences in the wrong way. Sometimes, these children try to ignore these painful
feelings, which makes it difficult to learn how to cope with them. This behavior may lead
to confusion and high stress. Children often become lost in the wavering maze of feeling
little or no emotion, then switching to being overwhelmed with emotion and not knowing
how to handle their feelings. These children may become psychologically unhealthy due to
their emotionally instability (www.childabuse.com).
Someone that was abused as a child is more likely to become an abusive parent
than someone who was not (Judith 221). In this way, abuse can carry on from generation
from generation. These families have unhealthy relationships. Family members frequently
lack the love, caring, and friendship that everyone needs.
To this day, Dave Pelzer still suffers from lingering psychological effects. The willful infliction of pain and suffering upon children is known as child abuse and is treated by society as a serious crime. Children are so extremely vulnerable and defenseless, it is thought, that no excuse is possible for mistreating them. Even so, abuse is believed to be widespread. Despite strict laws against it, it sometimes goes unreported and unpunished.
Experiencing avoidant attachment leads to the child becoming emotionally distant and subconsciously believes that their needs probably will not be met.
One way an abused person is affected beyond the actual act of abuse is when they are forced out of their home environment and into the foster care system. When authority finds child abuse in a home, they often take the child away and place him/her into foster care. Sometimes, the child cannot be returned to the parents and he/she has to remain in foster care until someone decides to adopt them (A Childs Cry 1). In some cases, a child may not realize that they are being abused, so they love their abuser dearly and may have a false feeling of safety while near them. Then they would be taken against their will and be uncooperative to authority (A Childs Cry 1994). Sometimes the child does not ever get adopted and has to spend the rest of their lives until adulthood in foster care. This could affect someone’s personality and mak...
With physical violence in mind, recognizing the signs of abuse can be quite difficult. Statisticbrain.com states, “17.6% of all child abuse cases have to do with physical maltreatment, and 80.8% of the perpetrators were the child’s parent or parents” (“Child Abuse Statistics”). Then, suspicion often arises when the parent’s exp...
Child abuse goes way back in history starting from the time when a little 10 year old girl got removed from her parents home in 1874. The case is connected to the founding of the New York Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which gave rise to the founding of similar societies (National Association of Counsel for Children). Most children under the age of 3 tended to have a higher rate of victimization and girls had a higher risk than boys. Sexual abuse was frequently associated with family problems such as parental alcholism, parental rejection, and parental marital conflict (Bright Futures 4 Kids). Throughtout history, child abuse seems to be less crucial and likely than it was before because back then there was a lower rate of child care. Man...
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.
If a child is being abused, it could take a toll on the child as a whole, which would show a child to display their feelings in an environment of acceptance. Sigmund Freud would treat his patients by following their sexual history. Children go through cognitive issues after abuse has taken place, and often have to seek help to get past the devastation.
Abuse can also bring a better side to the child, making the child want to be more independent. Child abuse is very common, and can affect any child of any race, color, or religion. Child abuse is caused by a parent, for many reasons, and can lead to many kinds of problems for the child. Parents impose child abuse for many reasons, such as psychological problems, low self-esteem, or alcohol or drug abuse.4 Child abuse happens for many different reasons, but all the reasons are still child abuse, and are taken seriously. Child abuse can also occur when parents have too high expectations of their kids, which then leads to abuse. "
The physical abuse of children covers a wide range of actions from what some might term ‘justifiable chastisement’ such as slapping or spanning to the sort of actions which most would agree constitute deliberate, sadistic cruelty against children.
Most experts believe that children who are raised in abusive homes learn that violence is a way to resolve conflicts and problems. They may replicate the violence they witnessed as children in their future relationships and parenting experiences. Children who witness their parent being abused are more likely to batter their partners as adults than children raised in nonviolent homes. For some going into adolescence may result in the belief that threats and violence are the norm in
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
A major American society issue is child abuse and it just keeps increasing with each new generation. We need to always be on the lookout for signs and symptoms of child abuse and report it to proper authorities. “Approximately five children die every day because of child abuse” (Ho, Gross, & Bettencourt, 2017). “One out of three girls and one out of five boys will be sexually abused before they reach age 18” (Gosselin, 2014). And, 90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator such as a family member” (Ho, Gross, & Bettencourt, 2017). As healthcare providers, we are these children’s option to live another day because more than four children die daily from neglect and child abuse (Ho, Gross, & Bettencourt,
According to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (n.d.), the causes of child abuse are 1) poverty, 2) less education, 3) unemployment, 4) changes in address, 5) marital problems, 6) lack of support, and 7) isolation. These factors are not only individual problems, but also social problems. Also, factors are considered to be interrelated to each other. For instance, parents in poverty are at higher risk of abused their children because they are more likely to struggle with economic problems because of unemployment. They are less likely to have stable jobs because of lack of education.
Child abuse is a very serious problem that continues to happen all over the world. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, defines child abuse as a failure to act as a parent or caregiver which results in physical/emotional harm, sexual abuse, and in some cases death. There are many different types of child abuse such as emotional, physical, neglect, and sexual. With each type of abuse there are warning signs you can spot before it is too late. When a child is abused there is a huge possibility that it can cause them to have many long term effects.
As I said before, many people don’t realize what the consequences of child abuse can do to a child. When a child is abused the may develop a range of maladaptive, anti-social, and self-destructive behaviors and thoughts by trying to cope with the abuse that is in their life. They may blame themselves for what is happening in their homes. Children who are abused also don’t have the ability to “spread their wings” and experience new things. Parents who abuse their children usually have a very tight restraint on them and don’t allow them to be able to experience new things. Children then lose their curiosity and wonder and quit trying new things and exercising their mind.