Did you know that approximately one third of Canadians have experienced child abuse (CBC Radio, 2014) and that approximately 10.4% of Canadians have a mental illness (Mood Disorders Society of Canada, 2009)? That’s three million, five hundred thousand people dealing with mental illnesses. These are uncommon conversation topics in today’s society, because most people do not like to talk about it. The two statistics above are connected; many people who experience abuse are prone to mental illness. When a child is sexually abused, or physically abused, there are visual effects on the person. Everyone knows the signs of a sexually abused victim but, most people do not recognize or even know the effects of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is the hidden scars; the scars that people do not see that can cause a lifetime of abuse. These invisible scars can affect a person’s development from childhood through adolescence to adulthood, as an individual struggles to accept their self. Emotional abuse negatively impacts an individual’s self-esteem, which in turn can cause depression and substance abuse later in adulthood.
Experiencing emotional abuse as a child can lead to a decrease in self-esteem as an adolescent. Many parents do not know the difference between common angry outbursts and emotional abuse. The easiest way to define the two, would be that common anger usually concludes with the parent’s apologizing for their actions in more cases. Forms of emotional abuse include “belittling, exploiting, denying, rejecting, isolating, inconsistency, neglecting, and violence” (Kairys, Johnson, Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, 2002); possibly interactions witnessed by many children. The key that makes them abusive is the repetit...
... middle of paper ...
... - drinking “can damage a student's ability to study well and get decent grades, as well as affect [their] sports performance.” (KidsHealth, 2013). It can also affect a teenager’s body weight, making them lose even more self-esteem concerning their body weight. Drugs, along with alcohol, cause damage to one’s body, and are “often reasons why teens get in dangerous situations like unprotected sex and drunk driving” (KidsHealth, 2012). When teens become adults, undealt with substance abuse can also affect their lives. Possibly ruining relationships and friendships, causing them to lose a job, or have less money. Substance abuse is a serious topic in today’s society. “Alcohol addiction is 10 times higher in those who experienced abuse” (CBC Radio, 2014) and because of their self-esteem, they are more vulnerable to abuse drugs and alcohol to make them feel better.
According to Men’s Health, “alcohol kills more teenagers and young people than any of the other drugs taken to affect mood and behavior (heroin, cocaine, marijuana).” This issue interests me due to the many friends I have who drink overwhelmingly. Also, I have so many cousins that are younger than me that I am concerned about with this issue. There are many reasons to why teens may drink, not all of which are reasonable but is the truth, from what I know. Teen drinking can also result in very many mishaps that are mostly a terrible consequence.
Also, In a study conducted by www.cdc.gov, youth who begin drinking before the age of 15 are 15 percent more likely to develop an addiction later in life. This can be extremely dangerous, because the more you drink, the more dependent you become. It can be extremely difficult to get rid of addictions and has severe withdrawal symptoms that could be very painful. Another effect of underage drinking is low self esteem. Many teens begin drinking because they are very easily pressured by peers. This can cause them to at first feel more confident and have higher self-esteem. Soon, however, this will wear off and they may be left with a worse feeling than before. Similar to psychological disorders, alcohol abuse can lead to many social
Psychological maltreatment, like many other forms of abuse can also be passed down through intergenerational transmission. It is not unlikely for parents to psychologically mistreat their children due to their own past or childhood experiences with psychologically abuse. For example, it is not uncommon during the course of an investigation of physiological maltreatment that it is discovered that the perpetrator had their own form of abuse history in the past. Often time’s people look at psychological maltreatment as a consequence resulting from some other form of abuse, mainly physical and sexual, but tend to overlook the fact that it may also occur as an individual form. Psychological maltreatment can take more than one form. During the course of researching for this paper I learned that there are three typical forms of behavior in which people follow when displaying this type of abuse against children. The three types are acting in an aggressive, rejecting, and lessening
The use of alcohol by adolescents is widely viewed as disobedience in American society. Although, alcohol use is technically illegal until the age of twenty-one (in 19 states the consumption of alcohol in not specifically illegal for people under the age of twenty-one), there is still an excessive use of dinking in teenagers today. Since alcohol is associated with all three leading causes of death among teens, it can also have less life-altering consequences such as a drop in academic performances and a decline of friend and family relationships. Also, mental disorders like anxiety, depression and behavioral issues as in loss of temper, an argumentative personality, being easily angered, and blaming others for mistakes. Alcohol is the most commonly abused drug in teenagers and society contributes to abuse by linking drinking to sophistication and good times. (“Alcohol Abuse and Youth” 1)
...them when they take just one drink of alcohol, even if it is just one shot or one beer, it affect you. Most college student drink to socialize and that is not a good thing to do. When a students, or anyone, drink to be social there are more likely to have more then what they intended. Alcohol will affect the way that students think, feel, act, and socialize with others. Drink is a dangers action to participate in but that is a choice that one needs to make on their own. It is always fun at the time, but at that same time one does not think that they are permanently arming to their bodies. Whether children and teens drink 15,25 or even 30 percent of the alcohol consumed, the reality is that America has an underage drinking epidemic and alcohol is by far the drug most used by children and teens and poses the greatest threat to their well-being” (Underage, CNN.com pg2).
Drinking alcohol in excessive amounts can cause lack of social skills and depression. When this behavior continues through young adult years, the brain becomes dependent on alcohol to cope with lack of social skills and depression. The brain becomes dependent and the person has to consume alcohol everyday to cope with life, causing the person to become an alcoholic through later years of life. Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change mood and behavior, and make it harder to think clearly and move with coordination (www.niaaa.nih.gov). I think this is the reason why teenagers who drink alcohol have unpredictable behaviors or irritability. The activities they enjoyed become things of the past because all they think about is the next drink. Alcohol use in early years can cause life-long effects on the brain which can cause alcoholism leading someone to feel hopeless and committing suicide. This is definitely a concern, since suicide is one of the top causes of death in teens. When the brain is not developing cognitively, the student can struggle academically causing he or she to have behavior issues. Teens who admitted to heavy drinking have less brain activity. This is a concern since the brain is still developing during those teenage
I already knew some of the minor effects of drinking alcohol such as it clouds ones judgment or can cause you to pass out. I also already knew one reason why people drink which is to help escape the stress and pain of reality. Most teens start to drink early for that reason also because of peer pressure or just for the fun of it. One last thing I knew from seeing this with my own eyes is that alcohol can ruin ones life by abusing it.
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,
“Alcohol abuse, now included in the diagnosis of alcohol use disorder, is a disease.” (medicinenet.com) Alcohol abuse negatively impacts the individual. It could have negative affects on work, medical, legal, and social area of a person’s life. Even though individuals suffer from these negative effects, they still continue to use alcohol despite its impact. There are also impacts on families. It might result in domestic abuse or violence and children can be affected in many more ways. Children of alcoholics are more likely to experience a negative outlook on life, stress and alienation. They may also show signs of aggression towards others. There are also other psychological effects like being antisocial and having depressive behaviors. (medicinenet.com) People don’t always abuse alcohol for the same
.... Drinking may be seen as fun and enjoyable, and when everyone else is drinking, the teen may be persuaded to drink as well. Wanting more independence, teens may start to become rebellious. The teenage years are a time between adolescence and adulthood when hormones are raging and freedom seems mandatory. With parents and teachers telling teens what to do, rebellion is inevitable. This rebellion may lead to drinking and alcohol abuse. Drinking alcohol is risky to teens’ health. Alcohol poisoning, alcohol abuse, and hangovers are some of the effects of alcohol. Death is another effect of alcohol; a survey taken by the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey showed that 1,700 students were killed as a result of alcohol-related injuries. Finally, anxieties, the influences of peers, and insubordinate behaviors have caused a problem for American teenagers.
It's very interesting that I find myself writing about something that not only is commonsense, but what is more, something that every one knows about in general but may not in particular. Alcohol use among teenagers is a serious problem and is responsible for death and injury in automobile accidents, physical and emotional disability, deterioration of academic performances, aggressive behavior that causes a number of other sociological problems in families and among friends. It is also the primary cause of criminal behavior and a leading cause of broken marriages. As we know it's a broad topic therefore I'll look at the role that alcohol plays in the society and its impact on teenage addiction.
Alcohol can alter the relationship between others and oneself and impact their values currently and in the future. According to the National Institutes of Health, teenagers who drink an excessive amount of alcohol will go through five stages. The first stage is they spend more time with their friends who drink and will prefer partying than having a long term relationship (Website 5). Friend groups are based on interests and hobbies, and therefore it is normal to surround yourself with people who have that common interest. However with alcohol, it is simply making the addiction worse. The second stage is they begin to neglect school and work by showing up late or not at all and will not attempt to complete assignments for class (Website 5).
Experiencing emotional abuse as a child can lead to a decrease in self-esteem as an adolescent. Many parents do not know the difference betwee...
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
Emotional abuse is prevalent within our society. Some child experts “argue that almost all parents are guilty of emotional maltreatment of child at some time or another” (Crosson-Tower, p. 211, 2010). However, it remains “the most difficult type of abuse or neglect to define or isolate” (Rees, p. 59, 2010). While physical abuse leaves detectable signs like scars and bruises, emotional abuse is hidden deep within a person. It lacks the public profile of sexual or physical abuse (Rees, p. 59, 2010).