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The Effects Of Child Abuse In Society
The Effects Of Child Abuse In Society
The Effects Of Child Abuse In Society
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A child abuse is one of our nation 's most serious public health problems. It occurs at every socio-economic level, within all ethnic groups, cultures and religions, and at all levels of education. Each day in the United States, four children die as a result of child abuse, and three out of four of these victims are under the age of four. Scientific studies show a link between child abuse and neglect of children and a wide range of medical, emotional, and behavioral disorders such as depression, alcohol abuse, drug addiction and juvenile delinquency. District Attorney Cape less believes that we must raise community awareness of the signs and symptoms of child abuse, and provide parents, children and families with the tools and support they need to report potential abuse, and break the cycle of violence. However, there are many types of child abuses, and for each one of them has its own explanation, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. Physical abuse is one of the most visible form abuses of maltreatment. Also it takes many forms, …show more content…
Childhood abuse encompasses far more than bruises and broken bones. Physical child abuse can include serious physical problems and long-lasting scars, but the emotional effects of child abuse are far more serious. It doesn’t matter whether or not the abuse of a child was violent or physical; the aftereffects of neglect, sexual child abuse, and emotional abuse can be just as damaging. As the effects are subtler, people may not even notice that a child is being abused. Child abuse occurs in every race, across all socioeconomic backgrounds, and across childhood ages. The long-term effects of child abuse impact a child’s psychological, behavioral, social, and developmental potential. The earlier the abuse is stopped and treatment begun, the more resiliency the child learns and the better the
Perpetrators of child abuse are most often the child’s own parents. A study done in 2005 showed 79.4 percent of perpetrators were parents, and 6.8 percent were other relatives. Almost 1 out of every 100 children in the United States are abused as a child and an average of 5 children die everyday from child abuse (USDHHS). Some cases may be more extreme than others, but child abuse still has a dramatic effect on a person’s life as it continues to affect the victim through their adolescence and into their adulthood. Not only does child abuse affect a person’s relationship life, but structuring them into who they become in life by altering specific triggers in their brain.
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.
Parents who take out anger on their kids not only place them in a dangerous position physically, but they harm them emotionally and mentally as well. Child abuse can be described as many different things. One of the more common forms of abuse is neglect. As stated by James W. Vander, in the book Human Development, "neglect is defined as the absence of adequate social, emotional, or physical care." (Vander, 1997). This could include undernourishment, a mother not paying attention to a sick or hurt child, or even a guardian not sharing happiness with his or her child. Physical abuse is defined by Vander as "nonaccidental physical attack on or injury to children by the individuals caring for them." (Vander, 1997). This type of abuse is where the hitting, yelling, spanking, and even sexual abuse come into play. Children are not only hurt in the present time of growing up, but in the future as well. This problem of abuse harms many individuals each day, and the repercussions are felt by all of society.
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.
Today child neglect is the largest part of child abuse in the United States, and almost two-thirds of all reported cases in child protective services is neglect (Dubowitz). Before the 1970’s child abuse mostly referred to physical abuse; however, now it encompasses physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as neglect (Compton’s). Physical abuse is when a child is hurt by getting hit, punched, kicked, or any other form of beating by an adult (Compton’s). This abuse will only harm the child physically and though it is horrific and can lead to long term effects it will normally only lead to violence. Emotional abuse is when an adult is hateful to the child by calling him names, and another form of emotional abuse is when an adult is punishing a child in a way that will cause him mental trauma (Compton’s). Emotional abuse is terrible for the child’s self-esteem however they can go and learn that they are important to the world by their contributions. Sexual abuse is when a child is touched inappropriately or molested (Compton’s). This is detrimental to a child but in most cases the child will block this out for when they grow older it is like it never happened which will cause no harm to their mental state. Neglect is when an adult will not seek medical help for their child and will not provide them with food, shelter, clothing, or emotional support (Sullivan). This is where the real trauma takes place on a child. The child will not suffer from being hit but they suffer from starving until someone is kind enough to feed them or they die from malnutrition. The child will not suffer from a parent calling them names but they might never know if their parent knows their name or cares to even speak to th...
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.
Domestic violence has increased over the years and has become a major issue for the children that live through it. In a study organized by David Wolfe, researchers concluded that from 1990 to 1993, there was an increase of 256,112 child abuse cases (Wolfe11). In a more recent evaluation relating to domestic violence by Louise Gerdes, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made an assessment on Child Protective Services (CPS) and reported that domestic abuse and neglect claimed the lives of 1,760 children in 2007 in comparison to 1,460 in 2005 (Gerdes 129-130). The neglect that these children are put in can only be categorized as child abuse. With all of these abuse cases, one could wonder how this abuse might be carried out against the well-being of the child.
There are many forms of childhood maltreatment. All of which can and do cause both physical and mental issues to the victims. Childhood physical abuse can cause grave physical injuries and even death. Children who are physically abused are more likely to experience cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems as they grow up, such as depression, anxiety, misbehavior, substance abuse problems, and can grow up to be abusers themselves. Many people have a hard time understanding why anyone would hurt a child. Most abusers love their children, but they have less patience then other parents. But the truth is that many children learn violent behavior from their parents and then grow up to be abusers themselves. There is evidence that physical child
It’s no secret that child abuse causes long-lasting effects, but can any of the effects turn out to be positive? According to research, the chance of there being positive impacts of childhood abuse is extremely small. The list of possible negative impacts of childhood abuse is a long one, and they can last a lifetime if not properly treated. Though it is very possible to recover from the negative impacts of childhood abuse, the chance of them turning positive is slim to none. Childhood abuse not only affects future relationships and self-esteem, but it can also cause basic day-to-day activities to become extremely difficult. The trauma that results from childhood abuse, whether it is physical, mental, or sexual, can only result in a negative
Child maltreatment can affect any child, usually aged 0-18, and it occurs across socioeconomic, religious, ethnic or even educational backgrounds. Arguably, child abuse and neglect is a violation of basic human rights of a child resulting from social, familial, psychological and economic factors (Kiran, 2011). Familial factors include lack of support, poverty, single parenthood, and domestic violence among others, (McCoy and Keen, 2009). The common types of child maltreatment include physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, neglect, and sexual abuse among others. Abuse and neglect can lead to a variety of impacts on children and young people such as physical, behavioral as well as psychological consequences which will affect the development and growth of the child either positively or negatively based on the environment and agency. More so, emotional, cognitive and physical developmental impacts from child neglect in the early stages of childhood can be carried on into adulthood. Research findings reveal that the experience of maltreatment can cause major long-term consequences on all aspects of a child’s health, growth as well as intellectual development and mental wellbeing, and these effects can impair their functioning as adults. Commonly, the act of abuse/ or neglect toward a child affects the child’s physical, behavioral development and growth, which can be positive or negative, depending on the child’s environment and agency. Another way to understand how the act has affected the child is to look at the child for who they are, and interviewing and observing their behaviors of their everyday life.
When a child has been physically abused, there are noticeable bruises, or other effects on the person. On the other hand, most people do not recognize or even know the effects of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse can deeply wound a child, and as the child grows, the scars will remain; the scars that people do not see that can cause a lifetime of suffering. These invisible scars can affect a person’s development as they struggle to accept themselves from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Emotional abuse negatively impacts an individual’s self-esteem, which can in turn, cause depression and substance abuse later in adulthood.
Child abuse consists of any act or failure to act that endangers a child’s physical or emotional health and development. A person caring for a child is abusive if he or she fails to nurture the child, physically injures the child, or relates sexually to the child (Robins). Child abuse is broken down into four major categories: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Aside from the abuse itself, the cost of the tragic events costs the United States billions of dollars each year. Every day, approximately 4 children in the United States die resulting from child abuse and the majority are under 5-years-old (Fromm). There are many organizations that promote preventative measures in reducing child abuse. If nothing is done, child abuse will continue to rise with many consequences in the future.
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
The effects of child abuse are multiple. The pain and trauma the abused child goes through is just a small part of how this cauldron of hidden depravity in our society affects all of us. Wrecked lives can be seen in persons of all ages and in all walks of life. Society as a whole is also effected by child abuse both in negative and positive ways. In this essay I will present some of the factor and results of this violent behavior on individuals as well as our culture.
One of the most obvious and damaging results of child abuse is death; however, research illustrating the effects on a growing child who has been abused has demonstrated many other lifelong negative factors (Felitti, Anda, Nordenberg, Williamson, Spitz, Edwards, Koss, Marks, 1998). In consonance children who suffer from abuse can show signs of depression, social withdraw, and even violent behavior. As a child grows older, they may suffer from poor physical health, such as high blood pressure, obesity, stress, and psychological disorders and disabilities (Herronkohl, T., Hong, Klika, and Herronkohl, R., 2013). Child abuse and neglect have also been associated with depression, anger disorders, and post-traumatic