Child Abuse During Adulthood

Abstract
Child abuse and neglect represent major threats to child health and well-being however, little is known about consequences for adult economic outcomes. Results indicate that adults with documented histories of childhood abuse and/or neglect have lower levels of education, employment, earnings, and fewer assets as adults, compared to match control children. There is a 14% gap between individuals with histories of abuse/neglect and controls in the probability of employment in middle age, controlling for background characteristics. Abuse appears to affect men and women differently, with larger effects for women than men. These new findings demonstrate that abused and neglected children experience large and enduring economic consequences.

The Effects of Child Abuse during Adulthood

Parents are the number 1 person a child is able to trust and would never even think about losing that trust or bond.

Parents are their main support of safety and security until child abuse violates all of this. Child abuse takes a wide variety of forms, and can range from mild to severe. When the relationship is betrayed children tend to become negative about many things. People who have been abuse as a child usually demonstrate high-risk sexual behavior, financial setbacks and alcohol and substance abuse. These topics are extremely hard to deal with and most who have dealt with child abuse carry the effects of it their entire

life.
Romance can be quite a challenge in some adult relationships after dealing with child abuse in their childhood. For other adults who have experienced childhood abuse and neglect, particularly child sexual abuse, are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behavior. This can lead to a wide range of sexually transmitted diseases or early pregnancy (Cohen 2000). Researchers found that history of child sexual abuse was associated with a greater frequency of unintended pregnancy, younger age at first diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease, greater likelihood of participation in group sex and a greater likelihood of engaging in prostitution. In a large reflective study in the United States, the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases was three and a half times higher for men and women who were exposed to three to five adverse childhood experiences compared to adults who had no adverse childhood experiences (Hillis 2000). Factors that may increase the likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors include: the inability to be assertive and prevent unwanted sexual advances, feeling unworthy, and having competing needs for affection and acceptance. These are all feelings that may occur as a consequence of child abuse and neglect in one’s childhood
Relations have often been made between childhood abuse and neglect and later substance abuse in adulthood. A strong relationship was found between child physical and sexual abuse and substance abuse problems in women. Less of a connection was found among men, although men with child sexual abuse histories were found to be at greater risk of substance abuse problems. The authors suggested that it is possible that men are less likely to disclose childhood abuse due to social values and expectations (Simpson & Miller, 2002). In the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study in the United States, adults with four or more adverse experiences in childhood were seven times more likely to consider themselves an alcoholic, five times more likely to have used illicit drugs and ten times more likely to have injected drugs compared to adults with no adverse experiences. The higher rates of substance abuse problems among adult survivors of child abuse and neglect may, in part, be due to victims using substances to self-medicate from trauma symptoms such as anxiety, depression and intrusive memories caused by an abusive history (Whiting 2009).