Dave Pelzer, a famous author haunted for life from child abuse once said, “Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.” Is it even humanly possible for ordinary people to imagine the horrific daily lives each abused child must go through? Being targeted by parents or siblings, or witnessing the abuse of parents or siblings must take a gigantic toll after so many periodic events. From physical, to psychological and sexual abuse, one could never sum up the tremendous pain and agony a child living in an abusive home faces day-to-day. Living in an abusive home ruins a childhood and impacts the rest of a person’s life forever. Not only are there various negative impacts from abuse, …show more content…
These unusual differences can also have many effects on children’s academic performance. Children who are sexually abused tend to be more aggressive and highly agitated. This could cause disruptive outbursts during class, aggressiveness towards other students, or easily frustrated when it comes to mildly or difficult tasks. Sexual abusers degrade their victims and make them feel like worthless animals. This can impact children to have a great loss of self esteem and make them feel antisocial. Abused children may also be clingy to other adults or peers; looking for someone to admire them as human beings and give them love and support that their abuser steals away from them. These effects can create many huge barriers in education. With no self esteem or pride, students may fail to meet the requirements of the curriculum, because they simple do not have any pride or worth ethic. Being antisocial will cause children to feel inferior to their peers. They may have trouble making new friends or keeping friends and have the status of being “socially awkward.” Children who are abused are also known to have substance abuse and drug problems. “As well as ruining childhoods, early abuse is associated with drug and alcohol problems and also increases the risk of depressions, post-traumatic stress disorder, relationship difficulties, and negative self image (Stewart.2014). With all these factors and alcohol and drugs in a student’s life they will focus more on their drugs and less on their education. Also, most students who abuse drugs end up dropping out of
“We aren’t the weeds in the crack of life. We’re the strong, amazing flowers that found a way to grow in the challenging conditions.” (McElvaney, 1057) The book entitled “Spirit Unbroken: Abby’s Story,” offers a perspective on child abuse providing a positive outlook on a tragic situation. Even in the best of circumstances, however, victims of abuse can see the effects of the trauma for the rest of their life. For each individual person affected by this form of trauma, the reactions can vary. The same type of abuse in two different people can have very different outcomes – one could be that of coping, and the other a life of brokenness. Especially at impressionable ages, any form of abuse can be a hindrance in living a normal life. Children
I chose the Dave Pelzer testimony to review because of its varying slant on the typical societal perception of child abuse which predominately deems maltreatment as either occurring from infancy, or instigated by males. Evidencing this misconception, Dave’s childhood is portrayed as idyllic until, around aged four, life rapidly deteriorates when his mother develops mental health and alcohol issues and turns from being devoted and loving into a sadistic, controlling and manipulative woman. At the hands of his own mother, Dave is singled out from his two brothers for being ‘naughty’, scapegoated and subjected to appalling treatment which leaves him physically, emotionally
This story shares the extreme abusive behaviors, and how easy it is for domestic violence to be hidden. This book is an example of many individuals who are physically abused every day. This story also reveals the horrible aspects of their lives and gives a voice to those who struggle domestic abuse. Even though Pelzer got away from his mother, in the end he was still mentally affected from his mother’s violence. Pelzer’s mother was someone who showed mental problems because no person who’s mentally right would physically abuse their child. In the end, Pelzer was lucky to overcome his abusive life, and share the untold stories from child
...g and filled with detailed solutions for each act of child abuse. The book allows the reader to visual themselves in each situation and knows how to react towards such each incident. It helped me understand why adults abused as children act the way they do when it comes to social interaction. Personally, I have attained new information that I was unaware of. In the beginning, I have always believed that child abuse only involved physical or sexual abuse. I did not know that emotional abuse actually existed. I was unaware of the fact that emotional abuse gravely affects children as they grow up. This book may open up the minds of people who are unaware of or refuse to believe that child abuse is occurring daily in our society because it is so informative and persuasive at the same time. If one needs to educate themselves concerning child abuse, consider this book.
Child abuse affects different people on various levels. The long term results can lead to prison or even death. There are many victims in the crime of child abuse that could be mentally scarred throughout adulthood. Abuse can lead to growing up in foster care, developed disorders and insecurities, inherited behaviors of abuse, prison, and death. The issue is serious and more attention is needed to reduce this crime and hopefully eliminate it someday.
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...
America struggles to find equality, and by bystanding the stripping of its youth, continual prolonging is inevitable. Raising this nation’s children through nurturing and care is the first step to uplifting America as a whole. In 2012 alone, 1593 of America’s children died at the hands of child abuse, 70.3% of whom were younger than the age of three (Safe Horizon). In order to prevent further child abuse, the American government should address stricter child protection laws, psychological stability, and increase the recognition of those that have released their stories. Stories by Mary Ellen Wilson.
Home is a place of comfort and security, where your parents love you and where they support you. What happens when all of that is changed? When your house is now a place of pain and fear; Richard Pelzer knows exactly how this feels. His childhood consists of constant abuse and neglect. In all cases of child abuse, the effects don’t end as soon as the parent decides to stop. Surviving child abuse is a lifelong battle. The child deals with the pain everyday of their lives even when they become adults. When a child is abused their life as an adult is now open to addiction, mental disorders, and suicide years later. The long time effects are far worse than the immediate bruises and broken bones.
There are several domains that must be considered when treating a survivor of child abuse: the need for safety and trust, sense of belonging, protection from perceived or actual threats, facing the defendant in court, prevention of revictimization, and empowerment (Sawyer & Judd, 2012). Davis, 2005, states that “children terrorized through sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse, or wartime atrocities may suffer from lasting wounds, nightmares, depression, and troubled adolescence involving substance abuse, binge eating, or aggression.” Victims of child abuse need to regain their sense of control over their lives. Experiencing healthy relationships, being nurtured by adults and helping them to learn resilience are all interventions that have been well-documented (Sawyer & Judd, 2...
This paper outlines the consequences of child sexual abuse (CSA) based on the examination of results from multiple researches previously fulfilled concerning the psychological and physical impact of this crime, information of statistics, warning signs detected, victims’ performances, and emotional state. Sexual abuse causes severe trauma on child victims that will last for the course of their lives, therefore it is critical to identify and improve the therapeutic methods utilized to treat CSA survivors.
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.
If there is abuse in your surroundings during childhood it can form emotional troubles because it can include anything from verbal abuse and constant criticism to more subtle tactics, such as manipulation, intimidation, and failure to please someone. Emotional abuse can be patterns of failure of parenting on the caregiver to provide a supportive environment. Growing up in a toxic household that contains drugs, prostitution, fighting can mold a child into believing that they are not worthy enough to have people in their life to support and make them better. Now, emotional abuse is not only within a child’s household, this can happen anywhere. School is one place where children deal with emotional abuse in the sense of words. Being bullied and being called names everyday can have a toll on someone psychologically, where they start to believe that they are exactly the names that abuser is calling them. This can get looked over because some many think that it is just words and that they can not hurt you because there is not physical evidence, but these less severe forms of abuse can still cause emotional deprivation that still have a strong affect. This can make children anxious and insecure, who are slow to develop as adults and who may fail to develop a strong sense of self-esteem (Gibb,
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
Children who suffer physical abuse are violent, most children brought up in violent homes especially where wife battering is common are violent. They become tomorrow murderers and perpetrators of crimes of violence. Children who suffer abuse also tend to be alcoholism, they take alcohol to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. They also use alcohol to enhance their self-esteem, which in reality it does
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