Impact of Child Abuse and Neglect on Victims

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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. Incidence and Severity Many people should be worried about this phenomenon because it is very severe. More than three million cases of child abuse are reported each year. That number only reveals the amount of cases REPORTED, let alone all of those that go unreported. The children who are involved live very unhappy lives, but the effects of the abuse will be discussed a little further on. Today's society has a need to worry about these incidences because child abuse affects it as well. According to Cathy Widom, a personality analyzer, there is a strong chance that a child who was abused as a child will grow up to commit criminal acts. She found that "26 percent of the abused youngsters went on to commit juvenile cr... ... middle of paper ... ...closure by "direct inquiry, by obtaining a complete [abuse] history, ..., or by asking about best and worst experiences of childhood." (Ratican, 1994). By doing this, the victim will hopefully be able to express his or her feelings productively. "For many survivors, part of the trauma was the need to keep the secret... The survivor often needs to share the secret with his or her support system, in a group of fellow survivors, or both to experience relief of this burden." (Ratican, 1994). Many researchers feel that classic therapy is not enough to helpan abuse victim. There needs to be much more involved than paint blobs and talking. Some feel that hypnosis and journal writing are some effective methods. All that is important is that the abuse victims get their repressed feelings out and they are able to accept what happened and move on with their adult life.

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