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Causes and effects of child abuse
Theory about domestic violence on children
Theory about domestic violence on children
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Most questions have answers and sometimes explanations, but there have been many answers to the question of why people abuse children. The trauma of a child being abused can be described in various ways. Child abuse is the mistreatment or maltreatment of a child whether it is mental, physical, emotional, sexual, verbal, or psychological abuse. Child abuse is a traumatic experience.
Child abuse is often synonymous with the term child maltreatment or the term of child abuse and neglect. It has been said that the trauma of being physical, mental, emotional, or sexual abuse as a child can effect an individual for the rest of his or her life. Such abuse can severely damage a victim's self-esteem. The effects of abuse are often pervasive in the mental, physical, and social nature. Suicide, violence, delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, and other forms of criminality are also child abuse related.
Those who believe child abuse is extremely prevalent push for more aggressive child protection system that would allow charges to be investigated and prosecuted more efficiently. The increasing involvement has encouraged many people to be concern with awareness and understanding.
One of the major causes of a child being abused is, when he or she is in an unstable family. Unstable families, characterized by frequent changes of partnership, are replacing stable marriages. For a mother, this result is a greater stress and isolation from the child. Frequent family changes also result in frequent role changes for adults in the household, leading to more confusion and more stress for the entire family. In the two part families, mainly the stepfamilies, great deals of conflicts are presented. Of these parents, about 71 percent fought regularly about the children, 81 percent had a conflict over the use of alcohol in the home. Many of the females received very little poise and positive feedback from parents in the home.
The abusing family lives in a manner that separates the bearing and raising of children from traditional marriage. This undermines the well being of children. For every one- hundred children born in the United States, twelve entered broken families, either by being born out of wedlock or through their parents' obtaining a divorce. In such circumstances children are most likely to suffer abuse and neglect, and new subcultures of abuse.
Origins of religiously justified child abuse may seem hard to believe, but it occurs very frequently. Medical neglect dictated by religious beliefs is another route through which children become victims of religious ideology.
When dealing with families who are entering the child welfare system, social workers need to examine the entire family, their history that contributes to the current problem, and the societal context of their homes (Popple & Vecchiolla, 2007). There are many proposals for why child maltreatment and Belsky outlines three explanations and a fourth theory for why parents maltreat their children.
Child abuse is a serious crime, that if violated can come with many consequences, and rules. Reporting child abuse is a mandatory law enacted in 1978 (but amended many times) stating that people must report child abuse immediately1. This law was created to identify children that are victims of child abuse. Relating to the law the Department of Human Services has responsibility to access and investigate suspected child abuse. "Each year Department of Human Services investigators conduct 20,000 investigations involving 30,000 children (in the state of California).2" There are a lot of cases reported each year, involving innocent children, abused by their parents. Although there are thousands of cases reported each year, thousands go unreported. "Child abuse has serious consequences which may remain as indelible pain throughout the victims lifetime3" Child abuse can have permanent negative affects on the child, permanent affects that the child will never forget. The abuse can also bring a better side to the child, making the child wanting to be more independent. Child abuse is very common, and can affect any child of any race, color or religion.
Life in the United States has been difficult for many children. Statistically speaking, there are four children who are killed by abuse each day (Allyn & Bacon, 2011). With numbers increasing over the years change is something that is starting to take place. There are many things that will affect the child welfare system in the future, such as the economic policies, political views, and the current policies set in place (child welfare information). The reason for the child welfare system is to help the children who are getting abused. In the past, there was not a policy set in place; however, this is beginning to change. One of the systems that have been set in place is the Children’s Bureau, an organization that does studies on the mental health of abused children (Thomas, 2012). Although this organization has no authority to develop federal regulations, they are one of the largest agency leaders in child welfare (Thomas, 2012). There are many problems with the economy and government that make it hard to maintain the child welfare system.
Child abuse, while having many different forms and levels of severity, can be basically defined as the maltreatment of a child by a parent or other adult. When one thinks of child abuse, usually the first thing that comes to mind is physical harm, but the issue is actually much more complex. The abuse of a child can also be manifested in verbal and emotional forms, as well as in sexual molestation. All forms of child abuse generally result in similar emotional disorders and behavioral issues, but the major consequences of sexual abuse, such as mental or emotional scarring, promiscuity, and the tendency of former victims to become sexual abusers, cause it to be the most severely damaging form of child abuse.
Child abuse is an issue within society that effects the lives of not only the victims but also the lives of many people in the social order. Child abuse is any mistreatment or neglect of a child that results in non-accidental injury or harm and which cannot be logically explained. There are several forms of abuse and neglect and many state governments have developed their own legal description of what constitutes child maltreatment for the purposes of removing a child and prosecuting a criminal charge. Child abuse consists of different forms of harm including physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect.
Child abuse goes way back in history starting from the time when a little 10 year old girl got removed from her parents home in 1874. The case is connected to the founding of the New York Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which gave rise to the founding of similar societies (National Association of Counsel for Children). Most children under the age of 3 tended to have a higher rate of victimization and girls had a higher risk than boys. Sexual abuse was frequently associated with family problems such as parental alcholism, parental rejection, and parental marital conflict (Bright Futures 4 Kids). Throughtout history, child abuse seems to be less crucial and likely than it was before because back then there was a lower rate of child care. Man...
Child abuse happens when an adult be it a parent, caretaker or a member of the family intentionally hurts a child or an adolescent physically, emotionally, sexually or fails to adequately supply for the material needs of a given child
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines child abuse as any act or series of events that results in harm, potential harm, or threatens the child’s safety (Webb, 2007). While many people believe that child maltreatment is simply physical, many other forms of maltreatment occur; sexual abuse, neglect and abandonment are also common forms of abuse. Domestic violence is also included in the definition of child maltreatment.... ... middle of paper ...
Child abuse is a social problem in America that has many contributed factors. Factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect includes poverty, divorce, substance use, lack of education, stress due to unemployment, mental health issues, teenage parent, and a history of child abuse in the family. It took decades for physicians to conclude that parents have been violently assaulting their children. Child abuse, child labor, juvenile delinquency, and similar social questions historically were ethical and moral problems, not strictly medical ones. (Helfer, Kempe, & Krugman, 1997). In 1962, the Journal of American Medical Association published “The Battered-Child Syndrome.” The article transformed society’s views and dates the rediscovery of child abuse as a social problem. Following this article, the U.S. Children’s Bureau adopted the first laws mandating physicians to report any suspicions of abuse and neglect to the police or child welfare. By 1974, some 60,000 cases were reported. In 1980, the number exceeded one million (Myers J. E., 2004).
We’ll start with child abuse victims and the affects and reasons of this abuse. There are four types of child abuse and I will list them in order from least to greatest, neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Neglect takes first with the NCVS having 54% reports of child neglect in 2007. Neglect is a very serious form of abuse it is the failure for a parent or guardian to provide for a child’s basic needs, including physical and educational needs. We grow and development drastically in the first twelve years of our life so when parental guidance and love is absent it affects a child’s developmental skills along with learning right from wrong. Many forms of neglect occur in larger households and with households with domestic violence. Many parents with multiple kids become too busy focusing on the older children they tend to forget the youngest one. So it’s common for a three year old to walk out of the front door and on to the street when no one is there to tell him or...
Domestic abuse and child abuse have widespread social and emotional costs. Family violence affects all segments of the family. The impact of violence on childrens' lives appears to be far more substantial than the impact on adults lives(Family, Pg. 1). In most cases of family violence the family has conformed to a pattern in which the line of family violence started generations ago. This pattern must be broken before more children growup and live in a family that resorts to violence. But there are also children who live in loving families who do not resort to violence and as these children mature they start resorting to violence to help solve and deal with their problems. Studies show that physical punishment could cause aggression in children, but other studies show that even abusive parental violence does not always lead to an increase in children's aggression. Only by recognizing and addressing the multifactorial roots of violence in our society can we move closer to living in peace.
The effects of child abuse are multiple. The pain and trauma the abused child goes through is just a small part of how this cauldron of hidden depravity in our society affects all of us. Wrecked lives can be seen in persons of all ages and in all walks of life. Society as a whole is also effected by child abuse both in negative and positive ways. In this essay I will present some of the factor and results of this violent behavior on individuals as well as our culture.
Authors Moylan, Herrenkohl, Sousa, Tajima., Herrenkohl, and Russo of “The effects of child abuse and exposure to domestic violence on adolescent internalizing and externalizing behavior problems” explained, “Numerous studies have demonstrated that children exposed to domestic violence and/or child abuse are more likely to experience a wide range of adverse psychosocial and behavioral outcomes” (Moylan, Herrenkohl, Sousa, Tajima., Herrenkohl, & Russo, 2010). The effects of physical abuse persist into adolescence leading teenagers to become socially awkward or, in some cases, pregnant. These individuals tend to keep to themselves or in small groups of trusted people. Correspondingly, as children age, the damage of the abuse leads them to become dependent upon drug substances and can also lead to them becoming child abusers themselves. Domestic violence remains one of the many causes adults physically abuse
According to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (n.d.), the causes of child abuse are 1) poverty, 2) less education, 3) unemployment, 4) changes in address, 5) marital problems, 6) lack of support, and 7) isolation. These factors are not only individual problems, but also social problems. Also, factors are considered to be interrelated to each other. For instance, parents in poverty are at higher risk of abused their children because they are more likely to struggle with economic problems because of unemployment. They are less likely to have stable jobs because of lack of education.
Child abuse is a very serious problem that continues to happen all over the world. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, defines child abuse as a failure to act as a parent or caregiver which results in physical/emotional harm, sexual abuse, and in some cases death. There are many different types of child abuse such as emotional, physical, neglect, and sexual. With each type of abuse there are warning signs you can spot before it is too late. When a child is abused there is a huge possibility that it can cause them to have many long term effects.