The Impact Of Neglect On A Child And Young Person's Life-Chances And Well-Being

The impact of neglect on a child and young person’s life-chances and well-being

The focal point of this essay is to illustrate the impact of neglect on a child or young person’s life-chances and well-being. Throughout this essay there will be use of statistics from a variety of reliable sources, to support ideologies. As well as theories, such as attachment theory, to reinforce understanding. This essay will outline the definition of neglect, present the concept of basic needs, penultimately influences of the care system and finally address the question of neglect impacting upon life-chances and well-being.

NSPCC, (2016) define neglect as being the failure of a parent or carer to meet a child’s basic needs. Basic needs are the requirements

Many of the individuals that experience neglect as a young person, will find it hard to fit in with social groups. In some situations, individuals are marginalised and pushed away from certain sub-culture because of their inability to participate or ‘keep up’ with the trends of that group. On the other hand, there may be a wide variety of reasons for young people to exclude themselves from the rest of society. The NSPCC, (2016) indicate that often neglect is a barrier to young people forming friendships, this may be due to: The young person having caring responsibilities, living in an unsuitable home environment or perhaps because they have an unkempt appearance. 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. Correspondingly, poor attachments can affect the relationships that the individual has throughout their life, including with their own children. NSPCC,

Parents with a reliance on drugs and alcohol often do not notice any significant health changes in their children. These may include developmental delays. Another issue is that children are not supervised adequately, there may be no parenting boundaries and in many cases the child will assume the role of the parent. It can be argued that children who have been deprived a childhood, may begin to resent their parents and the society that they live in.

Long term effects of neglect include hallucinations, mood swings and withdrawal. Many young people have major worries around their peers finding out about their parent’s lack of care, support and guidance. This suggests that young people may miss out on aspects of their childhood. E.g. Having friends coming around to visit. Dore, Doris and Wright (1995) say that children who have parents or carers with alcohol or drug dependencies tend to misuse in their adolescent years.

Cdc.gov, (2016) found abused and neglected children to be at least 25% more likely to experience problems such as delinquency and teenage pregnancy. It is also said that neglect as a child, increased the likelihood of an individual offending in adult life by