By analyzing the current data on the topic of children and sexual abuse, in the United State approximately one million children suffer from some method of abuse. This can manifest itself in sexual abuse and / or neglect. (Widom 1993). As we have discovered childhood sexual abuse is one of the myriad of types of violence related with alcohol use and abuse. Whether the use of alcohol as a consequence or as a causative factor. Family substance abuse may contribute to the abusive treatment of children in the household. Research has suggested that the children who have been subjected to the abuse at the hands of the parents may show an increase risk for developing substance abuse as adults.
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Childhood abuse has shown to exist in many diverse forms, including psychological abuse, neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual assault. (Widom 1989). The term physical abuse in this paper refers to all the types of ill-treatment that result in physical wounds. The list of physical injuries manifest themselves as, welts, bruises, lacerations, or broken bones.
Childhood sexual abuse also incorporates a variation of behaviors, vacillating from fondling, touching to sodomy, incest, or rape. Childhood sexual abuse also includes non-physical factors such as masturbation in front of a child, sharing pornographic images and having the child observe sexual intercourse.
Childhood neglect, for this research is defined where a situation in which a child receives inadequate care by a parent. This does include the situation in which the care given to a child is below societal norms. For example, a parent or care giver does not provide acceptable sustenance, clothing, shelter, or proper treatment by a medical professional...
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...r substance abuse and therefore is unwilling or diminishes their responsibility for their abusive behavior.
3. The disinhibition hypothesis: This concept suggests that the abused substance’s pharmacological actions in their brain impede the normal actions of the brain centers that control socially improper behaviors.
Sexual Abuse
The association between the care givers substance abuse and the childhood sexual abuse victim can be
extremely complicated. In most cases, the offender of the abused might possibly be the substance abusing
parent or another individual. Numerous studies established the link that childhood sexual abuse
experiences were connected with family histories of substance abuse (Miller et al. 1997). Likewise,
Vogeltanz and colleagues (1999) recognized parental substance abuse as a major risk factor for childhood
sexual abuse.
The United States defines child maltreatment as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious injury or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm” (McCoy & Keen, 2009, p. 63). This legal definition is better understood by the idea that a caregiver repeatedly fails to provide the most basic care necessary for a child. Although abandonment is often the first thing that comes to mind when one hears the word “neglect...
Slutske, W. S., D’Onofrio, B. M., Turkheimer, E., Emery, R. E., Harden, K. P., Heath, A. C., et al. (2008). Searching for an environmental effect of parental alcoholism on offspring alcohol use disorder: A genetically informed study of children of alcoholics. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 534-551.
When children are hurt physically, emotionally, or sexually it is known to be child abuse. Children are known to be neglected when they are not getting the proper attention needed for children. When children are neglected or abused in any way it is the responsibility of others to report such acts to the authorities as to what they have witnessed first-hand or signs of abuse or neglect seen after the fact, these people who reports such acts are known as third parties. The proper authorities to report child abuse or neglect is called Child Protected Services also known as Child Welfare. After the abuse or neglect is reported the proper authorities will then investigate to see if the abuse or neglect is legit or fraudulent (Sedlak, 2001).
The states and United States government contribute billions of dollars to prisons; where, the majority of offenders are substance abusers. However, are they really getting the help they need? Here is a little history on drug abuse. According to David Musto (1987) drug abuse has been around for approximately 100 years.
Child abuse is the intentional omission of care by a parent or guardian that can cause a
At an earlier age than their peer group the child will smoke drink, do drugs, and become sexually
Neglect (the failure to provide for the child?s basic needs) can be physical, educational, or emotional. Physical neglect can include not providing adequate food, clothing, appropriate medical care, supervision, or proper weather protection (heating or coats) to the child. Educational neglect can include failure to provide appropriate schooling or special educational needs, allowing excessive truancies, to the child. Psychological neglect is the lack of any emotional support and love, never attending to the child, spousal abuse, or drug and alcohol abuse including allowing the child to participate in drug and alcohol use.
There are multiple different causes of child abuse, and although abusing a child cannot be pinpointed to one specific characteristic, issue, or situation, there are factors which contribute to the abuse or neglect of a child. It is preposterous to determine whether child abuse will occur, but commonly a family may be at risk if the caretaker is young, has little education, has little knowledge about child development, has had several children born within a few years, is under great stress, and is extremely dependent on social welfare (Causes and Effects). As a child being taken care of by someone with alcohol and/or drug addictions is difficult, as a result of these addictions sometimes caretakers cannot make good parenting choices and all too often are unable to properly provide for their children. There are many factors that can lead to child abuse, but not all families who meet this “criteria” abuse their children, just as those families who seem perfect on the outside may actually abuse their children (Saisan et al.). Child abuse happens in all different types of families, and although there are some predicaments where abuse is more common, there is still no singular cause of child abuse.
Child abuse is a circumstance when a parent, close relative or caregiver abuses, hurt, exploit or maltreat a child, which could be through action or giving inadequate or failing to care for the child, which may cause injury, emotional harm or risk of serious harm or death to a child. There are many forms of child maltreatment, including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, and emotional abuse. Most of the time, children who are abused or neglected go through numerous emotional than physical damage, especially when they grown-up and this could cause more impair their self-confidence. Emotional and psychological abuse/ neglect will disaffirm the child from the implements necessities to cope with stress, and to captivate life expectancy instructions/teachings. In this situation, when the child is ferociously mistreated and abused, he/she might developed depression or
Unlike physical or sexual abuse, in which specific abusive acts are directed towards a child, neglect is typically defined by the absence of provision for a child’s basic needs (Gough, 2005).
In 1993, three million children in the United States were reported to have been abused. Thirty-five percent of these cases of child abuse were confirmed. Data from various reporting sources indicates that improved reporting could lead to a signific...
Moving onto the two less common forms of child neglect: medical and educational. These two forms of neglect are pretty self explanatory, but can be expanded on. From basics, its obvious that children need to have proper health care, and a proper school experience. Without these basic needs, children can become extremely ill, or not grow up into a good lifestyle. This can also lead to a child not developing into the happy healthy life it should have.
[9] Sgroi, Suzanne M. Handbook of Clinical intervention in Child Sexual Abuse. Lexington Books, Toronto, 1982. 9.
More importantly, “60 percent of children who are sexually abused do not disclose and most are acquaintances but as many as 47 percent are family or extended family” (The Scope of, 2016). The prevalence of child sexual abuse is difficult to determine because it is often not reported; experts agree that the incidence is far greater than what is reported to authorities (Child Sexual Abuse, 2012). Startling statistics represent the depth of the issue. Globally, prevalence rates show that a range of 7-36% of women and 3-29% of men experience sexual abuse in childhood (The Scope of, 2016). “The U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau report child maltreatment 2010 found that 9.2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted” (Child Sexual Abuse,
Failure to provide a child with basic necessary needs is known as neglect. Neglect has become the most common form of child abuse, and its effects have been recognized as the most detrimental to a child’s development. According to Zorika Petic Henderson’s article “Maltreated Children Fail in School”, Childr...