Adolescent Conduct Disorder

Child physical abuse can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and can ultimately affect their state of mind and how they view decisions as good or bad. By not being able to distinguish the differences between good and bad, it is more likely they will become involved with negative acts that can affect the outcome of the rest of their lives. Serious issues come into play when a child’s mental state of mind is altered and it can be very difficult to guide them back to the right path of life, especially if they have become too deeply involved with delinquent acts. It is important to combat this problem from the start to help keep them on the straight and narrow, and provide the help they need to adjust their mental state of mind to the proper stage.

(Net) Because of this there is a huge debate occurring between abuse and discipline. From the brutality and the force of the abuse can cause child to lose their trust for the person or persons giving the “Beatings “. In addition to the loss of trust a delay in development, learning disorders, motor disorders, intellectual disabilities, hearing loss or poor physical growth. (Bucks) It may be hard to determine whether if a child is being abused. But, as listed by (Network) “The best way to know if a child has been abused is if the child tells you.

Child abuse is when a child is physically or mentally mistreated. When a child is physically abused the abuser faces a wide range of penalties depending on several factors such as the age of the child, where the abuse took place and the criminal history of the offender. Child abuse can be caused by factors such as poverty, or the parent may have been abused as a child. If the parent was abused they may feel that abusing their own child is a form of parenting. Parents can become oblivious to the fact that they are passing it onto their own children.

When a child is growing up it is essential to experience love and affection. If instead they are receiving the opposite, their behavior will change drastically. Not all children who experience child abuse will have behavioral problems but as a group the chances are very likely (Long Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect). There are many problems that can occur over a child’s lifespan. For example, difficulties during adolescence, juvenile delinquency, adult criminality, alcohol, drug abuse, and other abusive behaviors.

These factors influence a young person’s well-being, and if they are not addressed they will go on to affect a person’s life-chances. The lack of socialisation as a child can be harming to how the individual will form attachments. (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1969). If children were not to form an attachment to at least one of their primary caregivers, this may cause some serious behavioural and psychological issues in adolescence and then on into adulthood. This argument is notwithstanding that over attachment can often occur, causing insecurity to a young person.

For example, when parents experienced high levels of stress, this can influence children’s and adolescents’ behaviors in a negative way. For adolescents, parent’s stress can mean increases in risky behaviors and less development. These adolescents will not develop good social skills and will lose the opportunity to learn good social norms that could help them to have a good reputation among peers and family. Parents’ stress can also lead to bad family functioning which is translated in more adolescents’ emotional and behavior problems. Big levels of family conflicts and poor communication skills can break family relations and have a big impact in children’s emotional security.

The effects of child abuse can manifest in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood and may affect an individual’s development in many forms including physical, cognitive, psychological and behavioral aspects (Briere, 1992). People who have been affected by child abuse could suffer from effects such as a low self-esteem which could be displayed in the decisions they make in simple very day life. Child abuse victims can also suffer from effects such as physical injuries, attention disorder. Victims who have been abused tend to have difficulty maintaining a long term relationship with other individuals. They also display extremely violent and aggressive behaviors and attitudes which could lead to death.

Can anyone possibly imagine the types of abusive traumas that children experience and how can they impact their lives? A child experiencing trauma at a young age could be very crucial for their development. Childhood trauma can range from minor to complex. An event occurring in a community where a child resides can impact trauma on a child. On the contrary, there are events that can be way more complex, such as a domestic violence involving a child.

Major symptoms produce a negative change in beliefs and feelings. Such symptoms include aggressive behavior, feelings of detachment, inability to converse the experienced trauma, distorted blame, a negative outlook on the world and on others, and crucial trust issues (Symptoms of PTSD 1). In addition to these symptoms, patients may also experience additional disorders such as depression, drug abuse, and physical or mental difficulties for the rest of their lives. They will most likely be impaired of the ability to function socially with friends, strangers, or even family (What is PTSD? 1).

Child abuse can also impede on the important attachment relationship infants have with their primary caregiver at early ages. This disruption can further lead to further developmental issues such as behavioural problems. This negative interaction during childhood can have continual physical, intellectual, and psychological consequences that may be evident in later periods of life for the individual. However, the different ways in which children react to experiences also needs to be noted as not every child reacts in the same way. Genes and experience both play important roles in the way a child’s reaction towards abuse and neglect.