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Domestic violence and its effects on children
How do family decisions help influence identity
Domestic violence and its effects on children
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Children Early childhood trauma generally refers to the traumatic experiences that occur to children aged zero to six. These traumas can be the result of intentional violence, such as child physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence, the result of accidents, or war. Young children also may experience traumatic stress in response to painful medical procedures or the sudden loss of a parent or a caregiver. Another type of crisis that a child may experience is neglect. Neglect occurs when a parent or caregiver does not give a child the care he/she needs according to its age, even though that adult can afford to give that care. Neglect can means in manner of not providing food, clothing, and shelter. It can mean that a parent or caregiver is …show more content…
One common crisis an adolescent will face is identity crisis. An identity crisis may occur at any time in the teenage years. It is a challenge an individual faced to find a sense of self. Not every adolescent goes through an identity crisis, but instead may face role confusions that are handed down by his/her parents. Some adolescents remain in a permanent state of crisis. Because there are more than two ways that people navigate their adolescent identity issues. (Whitbourne, 2012) Young Adults A young adult crisis occurs after entering his/her career domains. The conflict associated with young adulthood is seeking to form intense, usually romantic relationships with other people after establishing a personal identity in adolescence. Young adults’ common symptoms of crisis are often feelings of being "lost, scared, lonely or confused" about what steps to take in order to transition properly into
Biological influences combined with societal and social expectations contribute to how well people learn to adapt to their environments (2013). According to Erikson, there are eight stages of development. Within these states, there are different psychological, emotional and cognitive tasks. In order to adjust, individuals must learn to develop these tasks. During adolescence, Erikson states that each person needs to navigate through the development task of ‘‘Identity vs. Identity confusion ’’ (2013). He defined this task by stating that adolescent children must learn to develop a sense of self and establish independence. Prior to this stage of development, a person’s parents largely influence their identity. In this stage the adolescent children begin to explore and develop their identity outside of their parents’ influence (Hill, Bromell, Tyson, & Flint, 2007). Adolescents are generally more egocentric at this stage and have an increased sense of self-consciousness. They also have a strong desire to conform to peer influence and develop concerns regarding their appearance. They develop concern about their level of competence in relation to their peer group as well. As peer influence increases, during this stage, parental influence decreases (Ashford & LeCroy, 2013; Hill et. al, 2007). Conflict generally increases between parent and child at this stage of development (2007).
Parents who take out anger on their kids not only place them in a dangerous position physically, but they harm them emotionally and mentally as well. Child abuse can be described as many different things. One of the more common forms of abuse is neglect. As stated by James W. Vander, in the book Human Development, "neglect is defined as the absence of adequate social, emotional, or physical care." (Vander, 1997). This could include undernourishment, a mother not paying attention to a sick or hurt child, or even a guardian not sharing happiness with his or her child. Physical abuse is defined by Vander as "nonaccidental physical attack on or injury to children by the individuals caring for them." (Vander, 1997). This type of abuse is where the hitting, yelling, spanking, and even sexual abuse come into play. Children are not only hurt in the present time of growing up, but in the future as well. This problem of abuse harms many individuals each day, and the repercussions are felt by all of society.
Lastly, we look at identity without knowing it adolescents are searching for the answers to the question, “who am I?”. Although this is an important part of development for this stage it didn’t just being in this stage nor do adolescents have the capability to figure it all out. While growing up children are pushed one way or another by parents and peers some are pushed towards academics while others athletics. But how influential are parents and peers?
Childhood trauma can be attributed to many forms of child abuse. It can be described as sexual abuse, physical maltreatment and the witnessing of domestic violence. Males and females that experience childhood trauma will develop impairment in their well-being and will most likely increase their chances in developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “The stressful or traumatic event involves a situation where someone's life has been threatened or severe injury has occurred (ex. they may be the victim or a witness of physical abuse, sexual abuse, violence in the home or in the community, automobile accidents, natural disasters (such as flood, fire, earthquakes), and being diagnosed with a life threatening illness). A child's risk of developing PTSD is related to the seriousness of the trauma, whether the trauma is repeated, the child's proximity to the trauma, and his/her relationship to the victim(s).” Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (2011, March).
...e endured upon those who struggled with neglect are never ending. Every situation is different. That child may have been able to make it past hardships without any mental impairments but as an adult they may have a difficult time coping. They may not know what being in love is because they don’t know how to love or be loved. Therefore putting a barrier that will not allow adequeate communication with others. Simple things that are taught like how to clean, prepare meals or even manage money will be different tasks to accomplish because they were never taught. Leading to a more difficult time in raising kids of their own and maybe even repeating the cycle of neglect with their own kids.
Adolescence is a time when everything we've ever known is being changed. Relationships, friends, thoughts, and other things that shape who we are become more awkward and confusing and are changed from what they have been in the past. Consequently, we will change also because all these things shape who we are. During a period of such change, it's hard to know who we really are. Adolescence is the time when we find out who we truly are, but not until we know who we aren't. Adolescents use common words, actions, and rivalries to try to define their unique personalities, goals, and ideas. They label themselves in different ways, trying to find a single word that defines them entirely. Through this ongoing change of identity, adolescents fully realize who they are by trying on different identities until they find the one that fits them the best.
Childhood trauma has a significant impact on the life of a child. It affects the child’s overall functioning and development, including emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and social elements. (Perry, Pollard, Blaicley, Baker, & Vigilante, 1995). An overwhelming number of children experience some type of trauma in developmentally critical years which, as previously mentioned, has a major impact on the various aspects of their functioning- specifically their development. Trauma can present itself in a multitude of forms. It may occur that the child lives or lived in a state of poverty or that he suffered a significant injury or the loss of a parent or caregiver. A disheartening number of children experience neglect or abuse in its various forms;
According to the Center for Disease Control, one in every three girls and one in every five boys are sexually abused by an adult at some time during childhood. Child abuse is a vicious cycle. After a child is abused it puts a deterrent on his or her ability to succeed in life. Examples of this are adults who were abused as children are twice as likely to become abusers themselves. The majority of people in prisons were abused as children. It is no wonder why childhood trauma has such a horrible impact on a person’s personality and brain. Trauma is a serious consideration in special education. When a child is exposed to a traumatic event, such as abuse, neglect or death, it can have a lifelong effect on their mental health. Although there are numerous effects followed by childhood trauma the brain chemistry of neurotransmitters is most affected.
What exactly is “Child Abuse and Neglect”? Sometimes it is hard to narrow down what exactly is unlawful when raising your children. The United States has had several laws and bills passed to protect children. There is a typical stereotype that only the poverty-stricken families are affected, but child however this is not true. The Charlotte metro area offers several programs and facilities that help abused children. Based on the current economy I believe the child abuse rate will increase.
Adolescence refers to the transition period experienced by children that occur between childhood and adulthood (Shefer, 2011). Identity is first confronted in adolescence between the ages 12 – 19 years old, because of physical and hormonal changes in the body. It is also due to the introduction of formal operations in cognitive development and societal expectation that this contributes to an individual’s identity to be explored and established (McAdams, 2009). The forces within and outside (family, community) the individual that promote identity development usually create a sense of tension. The basic task is, in Erikson’s terms, “fidelity or truthfulness and consistency to one’s core self or faith in one’s ideology” (Fleming, 2004: 9), in a nutshell: "Who am I and where am I
Child maltreatment can affect any child, usually aged 0-18, and it occurs across socioeconomic, religious, ethnic or even educational backgrounds. Arguably, child abuse and neglect is a violation of basic human rights of a child resulting from social, familial, psychological and economic factors (Kiran, 2011). Familial factors include lack of support, poverty, single parenthood, and domestic violence among others, (McCoy and Keen, 2009). The common types of child maltreatment include physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, neglect, and sexual abuse among others. Abuse and neglect can lead to a variety of impacts on children and young people such as physical, behavioral as well as psychological consequences which will affect the development and growth of the child either positively or negatively based on the environment and agency. More so, emotional, cognitive and physical developmental impacts from child neglect in the early stages of childhood can be carried on into adulthood. Research findings reveal that the experience of maltreatment can cause major long-term consequences on all aspects of a child’s health, growth as well as intellectual development and mental wellbeing, and these effects can impair their functioning as adults. Commonly, the act of abuse/ or neglect toward a child affects the child’s physical, behavioral development and growth, which can be positive or negative, depending on the child’s environment and agency. Another way to understand how the act has affected the child is to look at the child for who they are, and interviewing and observing their behaviors of their everyday life.
According to Feist & Feist (2009), psychosocial development during this stage can be simply described as the quest for self-understanding to find their own identity in which they will experience identity versus identity confusion crisis. Identity can be defined as the uniqueness of an individual in terms of roles, attitudes, beliefs, and aspirations. Adolescents set their own identities by considering the goals and values set by their parents, culture, then accepting or rejecting others (Berger, 2001). “Identity confusion is a syndrome of problems that includes a divided self-image, an inability to establish intimacy, a sense of time urgency, a lack of concentration on required tasks, and a rejection of family or community standards” (Feist & Feist, 2009). To develop a stable identity, adolescents must confront some doubt and confusion about who they are.
Trauma, according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, is defined as a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury. Childhood trauma that often has lasting effects on the brain occurs during the ages of 0-3 (very early childhood), 4-11 (early childhood), and early adolescents. This type of trauma affects children behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively.
According to Erikson, when adolescents are unable to find ownership of an identity, their lives can spiral off in several directions. In some ways they will reverse the role of their desire, slipping into a socially unacceptable role or a role that does not match who they wish to become (Feldman, 2012). Other teenagers will forego social interactions, leaving them to feel sad and alone in the world (Feldman, 2012). Teenagers thrive off of finding an identity to center themselves around, and when they fail to identify one, the adolescent crisis ensues (Feldman, 2012). There are several factors that can distract an adolescent from identifying a personal identity and pursuing a life of well-being...
In Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion stage, I thought, “Who am I?” countless times like many other adolescents. I occupied much of my time trying to construct a firm identity of myself, which I now realized did more harm than good. Letting myself explore different interests would have helped me find my identity than me trying to fake some firm identity.