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Child abuse and the effects into adulthood
Child abuse and the effects into adulthood
Child abuse and the effects into adulthood
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Cross-sectional and longitudinal research both have their advantages and disadvantages in studying how abuse in early childhood affects personality development in middle childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. In a cross-sectional research approach, people of different cohorts will simultaneously be observed at one point in time. Individuals from each of the three groups - middle childhood, adolescence, and adulthood - would be studied at the same time to see if there are any differences among the age groups in personality development as a result of early childhood abuse. A cross-sectional approach is both cost and time effective, as they are relatively inexpensive and take little time to conduct, meaning that there would a diminished chance …show more content…
Such that, individuals would be observed as they develop from middle childhood to adulthood, in order to describe the changes in personality development and how it has been impacted by the early childhood abuse. Using a longitudinal research method would serve to indicate how individuals with the abuse are alike or different in the way their personality changes over time, and may reveal links between behaviors and experiences the individual had in their early life with their behaviors later on in their life. However, using a longitudinal research design is time-consuming where many of the individuals may choose to drop out of the study, and can be rather expensive to conduct. Additionally, the data may become skewed if the individuals become accustomed to the repeated testing, as it may begin to affect the results. A longitudinal approach could also reflect time of measurement effects, where the age trends are due to the historical period that the data is collected in. This would mean that perhaps the personality development may not be as much affected by the abuse, but rather the historical context in which the individuals being studied grew up
Odhayani, A, W., L., & Watson, W. (2013). Behavioural consequences of child abuse , vol. 59 No. 8, 831–836. Retrieved from http://www.cfp.ca/content/59/8/831.full
Especially in the book Miss America by Day, it mentioned about one of the maltreatments called incest (Maltreatment is intentional harm to or endangerment of a child, Incest is a sexual relations between persons closely related.). Like in the situation of Marilyn, author of the Miss America, she went through incest with her father at the age of five to eighteen, so until she became an adult it was very hard for her to tell her own story to anybody because she was afraid nobody would believe in her. Like the Child, Family, School, Community says, “the closer the victim and offender are emotionally, the greater trauma the victim experiences.” I agree with this statement, it is true that the closer the offender to the victim which the greater the trauma victim experiences. Some of the maltreatments are temperament of the child, marital distress, unemployment, lack of community support, and cultural values such as tolerance of violence can be considered as maltreatment. Other symptoms are poor social skills with peers of their own age(s), unable to trust other people, feel depression, commit suicide, have self-destructive, and confusion about their sexuality. It also said that high percentage of drug abusers, juvenile runaways, and prostitutes have been sexually abused when they were children. But for Marilyn Van Derbur felt very depressed and had temperament, but she coped with her pain by socializing and acting out as if nothing happened to her because she has to keep it as secret from everybody else ( Child, Family, School,
Romero-Martinez A, Figueiredo B, Moya-Albiol L. Childhood history of abuse and child abuse potential: The role of parent's gender and timing of childhood abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect March 2014; 38(3).Print
1.When a youth goes through suffering (ex. domestic violence, abusive relationships, etc.), numerous complications emerge throughout their development. They may be consumed by irritability, suspicion, and trust issues and have behavioural patterns, including paranoia, dishonesty, and impulsive behaviour. Others develop personality disorders similar to PTSD. The long-term effects of child abuse are also shown through the movie character Will Hunting who suffered child abuse in foster care and now is an impulsive man who refuses to reach out for help. Although, there are exceptions for negative development in those who have experienced childhood trauma.
Childhood Disruptive Behaviors Early Childhood Children at this stage (aged 4 to 8) understand the world by perceiving it, being influenced by it, and acting on it. In turn, the surrounding world shapes the child. This demonstrates the role of nurture within the child’s environment, as well as its role in developing behavior patterns. Longitudinal studies have demonstrated that behavior patterns and personality are established during the early formative years. Research suggests that, when children come from unhealthy backgrounds, such as dysfunctional, abusive homes, they are much less likely to develop adequately physically, academically, and emotionally.
Vaughn, M, and Q. Fu, and K. Beaver, and M. DeLisi, and B. Perron, and M. Howard. (2011). Effects of Childhood Adversity. Journal of Interpersonal Viole, 26 (17), pp. 3509-3525.
If individuals grow up in an abusive home there is a greater chance that they will develop a "defiant individualist character" (Jankowski 23). The main authority figure or figures in their life have mistreated them, which leads the individuals to question everything that all authority figures say.
Many researchers link behavioral problems in adulthood to childhood abuse. One researcher says that "An adult who was sexually abused as a child has a greater chance of becoming violent, suicidal, and abusive to their children than an adult who was not abused sexually as a child" (Kliest 155). These characteristics could hinder a victim from living a normal lifestyle and having a family. Kliest also states, "Adults who were abused sexually as children will have a greater chance than those who were not of experiencing sexual dysfunction, such as flashbacks, difficulty in arousal, and phobic reactions to sexual intimacy" (156). Many researchers agree that childhood sexual abuse has a negative effect on an adult's personal relationships. Another researcher states, "A history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) appears to have an adverse impact on the quality of adult intimate relationships, and they report avoiding the development of close adult relationships because of their fear of rejection" (Whiffen 1103).
Thorough research has been conducted on the impact of childhood abuse on younger adults, or adults younger than age 65 (Sullivan, T. P. et al, 2006; Chartier, M.J., Walker, J.R., Nalmark, B. 2009). However, due to the lack of research on the impact of childhood abuse on older adults ages 65 and above, this research will be an exploratory design. Exploratory research is done when there is little literature on a topic (Krysik & Finn, 2013). Under the pre-experimental research design, this experiment will be a one-shot case study (Krysik & Finn, 2013). No intervention will be used in the experiment, since we are just trying to learn how previous child abuse affects the participants mental health.
Having faced either physical and/or sexual maltreatment, young people who are maltreated tend to have impaired physical and emotional social functions.
... exposed to abusive environments show delays or restrictions in their physical growth as well as in their mental development (Smith, 1975).
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 angry outbursts and emotional abuse.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Ehrensaft and colleagues published the above referenced study in the Journal of Psychology of Violence in 2015. The study concentrated on examining how child abuse history influences parenting of the next generation. A lot of studies have already proven a link between childhood abuse and parenting, but have left several gaps such as examining generalized anxiety disorder as mediators of the association of abuse with later parenting or parenting as outcomes of a history of dual abuse. So to test the hypothesizes, that a history of childhood abuse prior to the age of 18 will predict lower mean levels of positive parenting practices and higher mean levels of maladaptive parenting practices, and that conduct disorder at age 15 and adulthood psychopathology at age 22 to mediate the influence of childhood abuse on parenting at age 33, Ehrensaft and colleagues did an in depth experiment where they examined abuse in families through questions and interviews.
Personality is the study of an individual’s unique and relatively stable patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving over time and across situations and it is what distinguishes one individual from another. In the past changes in personality were thought to have only occurred in the developmental stages of childhood and solidifies in adolescence. After the teenage years it was thought to be set like plaster or the change seen to be inconsequential or absent( Srivastava, John, Gosling, and Potter, 2003). However, recent studies have suggested that changes in personality traits continue to occur throughout an individual’s lifespan due to multiple reasons.
Children who suffer physical abuse are violent, most children brought up in violent homes especially where wife battering is common are violent. They become tomorrow murderers and perpetrators of crimes of violence. Children who suffer abuse also tend to be alcoholism, they take alcohol to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. They also use alcohol to enhance their self-esteem, which in reality it does