Child Abuse Child abuse is when a parent or caregiver, either through action or failing to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or harm to a child. There are different forms of child maltreatment that include: neglect, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and exploitation. Most abused children suffer a great amount of emotional damage than that of physical damage. An abused child may become depressed. Some common symptoms seen in children who are abused or have been in the past are easily noticed by others around the child. They may withdraw them socially and think of suicide or become violent. A much older child may possible use drugs or alcohol, run away or mistreat others. Behavior changes like fear, anxiety, depression, or not wanting Changes in behavior and emotional can occur. Children can develop a hand full of problems, which can include, depression, anxiety, trouble forming relationships with others, and difficulties dealing with their anger. Adults who were the victims of child abuse in the past are at higher risk for a handful of emotional and physical problems, even including economic problems in the present. The common physical problems are neurological, skeletal, respiratory, heart, and gastrointestinal complications. When compared to other adults who have no past history of child-abuse, those who were abused as children have a higher risk for accomplishing lower levels of education, employment and net income. The risks are most evident for women than when they are compared to men. Adult survivors of abuse are at higher risk of serving time in prison and have a record of family violence and it is most likely to occur in their own Early abuse in a child’s life may contribute to practically all types of mental illness. In the largest study, now, uses brain scans to show the effects of child abuse. Researchers have found changes in vital regions in and around the hippocampus in the brains of young adults who were abused in their childhood. These changes leave victims vulnerable to depression as a conclusion given in the study. Harvard researchers led by Dr. Martin Teicher studied two hundred persons from ages eighteen to twenty five years old, who were mostly from a middle class and well-educated. They were drafted through a newspaper and advertisements for a study on their memories from their childhood. The point of the research was to look explicitly at the results of abuse and
Child neglect and abuse is an unfortunate reality for many children today. It can have significant developmental impacts on children until they are an adult. Unfortunately it is not noticed until the damage is already done. Parents are the ones that are supposed to take care of their child. The consequences of a child getting mistreated young may endure long after the neglect occurs. People having children and not ready to be parents. Scaring the child for life because they decided that is was fun to beat on their child and abuse them mentally, and some even sexually. The effects can appear in all aspects of life, rather it is psychological or behavioral. There are three main effects of neglect and abuse that can range from minor physical injuries, not getting along with others, or can become aggressive and affect them later on in life.
Currently, there are many children whom suffer from emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in their family. Emotional abuse is the lack of interest or affection parents have towards their children. As a result of emotional abuse, children are left feeling worthless and unloved. Physical abuse refers to attacking children resulting visible bodily injuries from either being burned, pushed, punched, slapped, or whipped. Sometimes physical abuse can be extremely severe that children have broken bones, fractures, or hemorrhaging. Sexual abuse occurs when a person forces, tricks, or threatens children to have sexual contact. These acts of child abuse could prevent children from living a normal adulthood. In order to deal with such a traumatic childhood, adults abused as children should rid themselves of such burdensome, painful memories.
Child abuse is a serious issue in today's society. Many people have been victims of child abuse. There are three forms of child abuse: physical, emotional, and sexual. Many researchers believe that sexual abuse is the most detremental of the three. A middle-aged adult who is feeling depressed will probably not relate it back to his childhood, but maybe he should. The short-term effects of childhood sexual abuse have been proven valid, but now the question is, do the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse affect middle-aged adults? Many contradicting views arise from the subject of childhood sexual abuse. Researchers and psychologists argue on this issue. Childhood sexual abuse has the potential to damage a child physically, emotionally, and behaviorally for the rest of his or her childhood, and the effects have been connected to lasting into middle-aged adulthood.
Abuse of children has become a major social problem and a main cause of many people's suffering and personal problems. Neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse have an immediate and long-term effects on a child's development. The long-term effects of abuse and neglect of a child can be seen in psychiatric disorders, increased rates of substance abuse, and relationship difficulties. Child abuse and neglect is a huge problem. Parents who abuse are people who have been abused and neglected themselves as children(Long Term Consequences).
Child abuse happens when an adult be it a parent, caretaker or a member of the family intentionally hurts a child or an adolescent physically, emotionally, sexually or fails to adequately supply for the material needs of a given child
Psychological maltreatment, like many other forms of abuse can also be passed down through intergenerational transmission. It is not unlikely for parents to psychologically mistreat their children due to their own past or childhood experiences with psychologically abuse. For example, it is not uncommon during the course of an investigation of physiological maltreatment that it is discovered that the perpetrator had their own form of abuse history in the past. Often time’s people look at psychological maltreatment as a consequence resulting from some other form of abuse, mainly physical and sexual, but tend to overlook the fact that it may also occur as an individual form. Psychological maltreatment can take more than one form. During the course of researching for this paper I learned that there are three typical forms of behavior in which people follow when displaying this type of abuse against children. The three types are acting in an aggressive, rejecting, and lessening
The psychological effects that are created through abuse often create physical side effects as well. These psychological effects, such as anxiety and depression, could cause reoccurring headaches, loss of appetite, insomnia, and many other physical effects due to growing up with a heightened stress response. Even after the abuse ends, adult survivors of childhood abuse are at a higher risk for many long-term problems including “…chronic pain and fibromyalgia, gynecological problems, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, arthritis, headaches, cardiovascular disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome”. Physical abuse usually causes more noticeable side effects than mental or emotional abuse, and they can also sometimes cause life-long problems. The longer the abuse occurs, the worse the repercussions will be. Long-term abuse can result in physical disabilities, brain damage, and even death. The amount of negative physical effects that come from childhood abuse show that the idea of positive physical effects coming from the situation as well is
With the general research question as “What is the impact of child abuse on mental health among older adults?“ the population is adults 65 and older who experienced sexual, physical, or emotional abuse as a child. This population is a protected population because of the individual’s experience with child abuse, as well as their state of mental health. Due to the unknown number of people who fit into this population, it would be a necessity to study a sample. The sample will come from Jacksonville, Florida.
Child abuse is an issue within society that effects the lives of not only the victims but also the lives of many people in the social order. Child abuse is any mistreatment or neglect of a child that results in non-accidental injury or harm and which cannot be logically explained. There are several forms of abuse and neglect and many state governments have developed their own legal description of what constitutes child maltreatment for the purposes of removing a child and prosecuting a criminal charge. Child abuse consists of different forms of harm including physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect.
Child abuse, while having many different forms and levels of severity, can be basically defined as the maltreatment of a child by a parent or other adult. When one thinks of child abuse, usually the first thing that comes to mind is physical harm, but the issue is actually much more complex. The abuse of a child can also be manifested in verbal and emotional forms, as well as in sexual molestation. All forms of child abuse generally result in similar emotional disorders and behavioral issues, but the major consequences of sexual abuse, such as mental or emotional scarring, promiscuity, and the tendency of former victims to become sexual abusers, cause it to be the most severely damaging form of child abuse.
Family plays a major role in a child’s life and his or hers social and emotional development. When abuse and neglect take a toll on a child’s life at such a young age, it can affect them physically and emotionally. When a child is maltreated, it affects their education, behavior, relationships, etc. and most likely follows them throughout life. According to the article “Effects of Chronic Maltreatment and maltreatment timing on children’s behavior and cognitive abilities,” over 900,000 children in the United States alone were victims of abuse and neglect in 2006(184). There are many factors that may alter the outcomes of a child who is or was abused, for example, the age the abuse and neglect began, how long it went on for, or if it was physical or emotional abuse.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines child abuse as any act or series of events that results in harm, potential harm, or threatens the child’s safety (Webb, 2007). While many people believe that child maltreatment is simply physical, many other forms of maltreatment occur; sexual abuse, neglect and abandonment are also common forms of abuse. Domestic violence is also included in the definition of child maltreatment.... ... middle of paper ...
Child abuse refers to lack of care or any type of emotional, physical or sexual mistreatment that results in emotional damage or physical injury to a child or a youth. In most countries, children are considered to be anyone below 18 years of age. Child abuse can occur directly by harming a child or indirectly by failing to prevent the child from any form of harm or injury. Child abuse can occur either in the family set up, in the community set up or in an institution such as a school. Also, children can be abused by adults or by other children or by people who know them or people who are complete strangers to them.
Child abuse is a very serious issue, that I believe has been neglected and we as a society haven’t done enough to protect these children. In this essay I will be speaking about what child abuse is; I will discuss physical, emotional and sexual abuse. I will also cover the affects that children endure due to child abuse. According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, child abuse is when a parent or caretaker makes a decision that leads to the death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, or sexual exploitation of a child.
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.