Child Abuse and Neglect

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Many children in the US have to endure child abuse. Most people do not understand the consequences the abused children have to live with for the rest of their lives. Because child abuse is a long-term problem, it impacts not only the child and family, but also the society as a whole. Children who are abused usually end up with self-esteem problems and lose their self-confidence. Therefore, they end up getting addicted to drugs or alcohol, which can create problems for their whole community. As adults, children who have experienced child abuse suffer long-term consequences physically and mentally, which can cause them to have more chances of abusing their own children; therefore there should be more ways to help children and adults cope with their devastating childhoods so that their children wont have to go through the same thing growing up (Mersch).

A lot of different things can be the cause of child abuse, but the main reason is poverty. Poverty causes a lot of people to lose jobs and stress out. Being stressed all the time can cause many people to lose their temper and take it out on other people, even if it is their own child. There is a big possibility that the abusive parents have had to suffer child abuse themselves when they were younger as well (Kartha). Child abuse does not only happen in poor families or bad neighborhoods. It crosses all racial, economic, and cultural lines. Sometimes families who seem to have it all from the outside are hiding a different story behind closed doors. Parents who suffer from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or another mental illness that cause them to have trouble taking care of themselves are less likely capable of taking care of a child. A mentally ill of traumatized p...

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...ial development, leaving lifelong psychological scars. That is why people of all ages need to go to therapy and get help if they lived through their traumatizing past because they cannot deal with everything emotionally on their own.

Works Cited

Baxamusa, Batal. “Signs of Abuse.” Buzzle 3 Feb. 2011: 1. Buzzle.com. Web.4 Mar. 2011.

Kartha, Deepa. “Abusive Parents: Effect on Children.” Buzzle 8 Feb. 2010: 1. Buzzle.com. Web. 5 Mar. 2011.

Leverich, Jean. “Types of Abuse.” Child Abuse. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2006. Print.

Mersch, John. “How Is Child Abuse Treated?” MedicineNet.com. MedicineNet, Inc, 1996-2011. Web. 3 Mar. 2011.

Newton, C.J. “Child Abuse: An Overview.” Find Counseling.com. MAR Internet Marketing, 1996. Web. 3 Mar. 2011.

Saisan, Joanna, et al. “Child Abuse and Neglect.” Helpguide.org. Helpguide, 2001-2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

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