Severe neglect is child abuse that often goes unnoticed and is hard to reverse. By understanding the implications of neglect, we can intervene earlier in order to prevent severe cases from becoming irrevocable. Keywords: neglect, attachment, development Introduction Neglect affects every aspect of a child's life. From not being able to form secure attachments to difficulties in developing cognitive abilities. Neglect is defined as mistreatment in which the caregiver fails to provide appropriate care.
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.
Children who are maltreated have significantly poorer mental and physical health outcomes compared with the general child population (Ho). Some of the causes of child abuse are lack of parenting support and skills, a history of child abuse, mental illness, etc. The lack of parenting support could be the main reason why children most children experience physical abuse. He/she are in their learning stages and need to parent to correct them when they are wrong. Your child will make mistakes along the way.
Investigating Depression in Children During childhood years, children are almost as susceptible to being depressed as adults. Many adults to not realize that being a child can be very frustrating, and they often feel powerless. Children can have a lot of stress in their lives and cannot deal with it as easily as adults. They have many concerns such as school, peers, parental acceptations, etc. Childhood depression is a mental illness that affects children's behavior and moods.
Divorce also hurts a child’s academic achievement. Children whose parents divorce generally have poorer scores on tests and a higher dropout rate. (3) Children react differently yet similarly in divorce. Every child caught up in the distress of divorce has a hard time coping with it and imagining their life without a parent. Their anxiety levels peak as they feel they are going to be abandoned.
Finally, a child who is suffering from PTSD is likely to be vulnerable to further abuse and will often inflict it on himself or herself as well as allowing it from others. This disorder develops specifically because of an inability to feel safe during the developmental years that results in an inability to feel calm and safe. The constant anxiety creates a hyperactive and mental state of worry. It also manifests with typical physiological indicators of stress such as headaches, behavior issues, digestive distress, general achiness and stiffness of joints, and difficulty breathing (Herman, 1992, pgs.
Failure or refusal to provide these necessities endangers the child’s physical health, well-being, psychological growth and development. Physical neglect also includes child abandonment, inadequate supervision, rejection of a child leading to expulsion from the home and failure to adequately provide for the child’s safety and physical and emotional needs. On the other hand emotional neglect is a lack of parental interest in child and his/her needs. This is the most difficult form of maltreatment to recognize and document. Both physical and emotional neglect can severely impact a child’s development by causing failure to thrive; malnutrition; serious illness; physical harm in the form of cuts, bruises, burns or other injuries due to the lack of supervision; and a lifetime of low self-esteem.
The security of the child is shatter... ... middle of paper ... ... was reported that many children found it difficult to develop friendships for reasons such as holding back from others as well as fear of inviting others to their home (Adams 2006). In conclusion, it is clearly shown that domestic violence has a negative effect on the children who witness it. An expanding body of research suggests that childhood trauma and adverse experiences can lead to a variety of negative health outcomes (Anda & Chapman & Dube & Felitti & Giles & Williamson, 2001, p.1). In fact, childhood stressors such as witnessing domestic violence and other household dysfunctions are highly interrelated and have a graded relationship to numerous health and social problems (Anda & Chapman & Dube & Felitti & Giles & Williamson, 2001, p.2). It is obvious and clearly shown that the children who witness domestic abuse have serious long term mental effects.
According to the American Humane Association, approximately 63% of children experience abuse by being neglected. This means that an alarming number of children are not being care for properly and are lacking supervision. These children suffer from malnutrition and are constantly in danger. In most cases, parents fail to provide the necessary care to keep a child healthy by depriving them from essential needs like appropriate clothes, a good hygiene and a safe shelter. This is not because the caregiver or parent is in a poor economical state, but because they are occupied with drugs or other activities that are distracting their attention from caring for their children.
Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves. Children who have been abused are left with more than just physical scars. They have many psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems as well. Their social lives are affected dramatically, and they suffer lifelong effects. (Lambert) Children tend to be emotionally disturbed years after the abuse, many have IQ scores lower than average, and some have even been classified as mentally retarded.