A Longitudinal Examination Of Child Abuse, Anxiety, And Academic Performance

This prevalence rate is considerably higher than that of the general population, therefore confirming the theory that trauma occurring in childhood has the ability to play a significant role in the development of mental illness. In addition to broad and generalized findings, they also found specific age groups to be related to specific forms of trauma in terms of what can result in the most detrimental effects. In relation to emotional abuse, it is considered most damaging at ages 6, 14, and 16. Sexual abuse is most harmful at age 12. Non-verbal abuse was found to be more detrimental at age 14 (Schalinksi, 2016). All of these findings also proved to be predictive of the development of PTSD as well as other mental illnesses, such as

This paper explores 11 published articles which report on results from research conducted on the links between child abuse and adult physical and mental health. The articles vary in their themes and ideas of child abuse in relations to trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress, juvenile offenses, and teen dating violence. Other articles suggest adult criminal behaviors, incarceration and parenting styles of those who were abused as children. This paper examines the relationship within one another of how child abuse affects those children in later years and stages of life.

In the immediate, as well as long-term aftermath of exposure to trauma, children are at risk of developing significant emotional and behavior difficulties (CWIG, 2012). The most damaging types of trauma include early physical and sexual abuse, neglect, emotional/psychological abuse, exposure to domestic violence and other forms of child maltreatment (Hoch, 2009). Research has shown that children that are exposed to these types of trauma will experience developmental delays including language and verbal processing. Also, they will have risk of poor physiological and psychosocial functioning, and will be vulnerable to emotional and behavioral dysregulation disorders, thus, leading to an increase risk of poor outcomes including substance abuse, suicidality, teen pregnancy and paternity, criminal activity, and revictimization (Hoch, 2009).

During the study it has been found that victims that have suffered childhood abuse also have exposure to multiple types of abuse such as maltreatment and bullying. Also the effect depends on

Abuse is an experience that sticks with children forever; with high emotions and fears clogging their mind they have no room to think about other important factors such as schoolwork. Brain development is especially important in the younger years, and when a child is abused this interrupts the development for this student. This brain development trauma leads into the classroom in different areas of a child’s life such as cognitive functioning, interpersonal skills with others, and their overall academic performance (Finkelhor, 2008). One cannot simply expect a child who was an abused to not have any form of cognitive problems.

Poverty and how it can affect a child’s education and how attachment with a parental figure can affect a child’s education are two major claims made by Tough. Tough believes in general children who come from stressful environments and insecure attachments tend to do worse in school in comparison to others. Children who are surrounded by stressful situations in their home environment tend to be distracted emotionally, thus leading to their poor performance in school. In an attempt to explain this phenomenon, stress psychologists described how the part of the brain that is critical in self-regulatory, cognitive and emotional responses is the part that is mainly affected by early stress. Using this information, Burke Harris conducted a study where she assigned ACE scores to thousands of patients based on childhood trauma including growing up in an abusive home. Based upon these results, Burke Harris found a powerful correlation relating ACE scores and people’s performance in school (17). In order to make sense of this information, McEwen described

The purpose of this study is to determine if child abuse and neglect affect social status, grade point averages (GPA), or psychological imbalances of individuals later in life. This study is important to address to the public of the long-term affects of abuse and neglect in relation to such topics. The subjects surveyed are college-aged students ranging from ages 18 to 25. This survey is based on abuse or neglect from the subject’s parents or guardians at any point from birth to age 16 or 18. The cut off age group is dependant upon how old the subject was once they moved out of the household.

In general, traumatic events effects children throughout different times in their adolescence (Alisic, 2012; Deihl, 2013; Little & Little, 2013; Walkey & Cox, 2013). For example, the Mental Health of Tarrant County (2012) revealed that “26% will witness or experience a traumatic event before they turn four years of age and more than 13% of students report being abused” (p. 1). Children’s reaction to trauma is different from how adults react (Bennett et al., 2014; Elzy et al., 2013; Garfin et al., 2014; Walkey & Cox, 2013; West et al., 2014). Traumatic events can lead children to events that cause suspensions and maybe eventually dropping out of school (Porche et al., 2011). Researchers found exposure to traumatic events early cause problems

They will typically have more difficulty learning in the classroom because of responses similar to these (Prothrow-Smith, December 1995). A student that is being abused at home is more likely to be withdrawn in the classroom and have a lower self-esteem level because they feel that if they answer a question incorrectly they will be negatively punished in some manor (NAEYC, 1997). Students show an inability to cope with the stress levels that are associated with school and are therefore more likely to give up. In fact, maltreated children do not differ on perceived academic ability but their scores on actual tests are significantly lower (Kinard, 2001). One major area that is extremely important to the growth of children is how they interact with other children while at school. Abuse in the home will negatively effect social growth because it influences how comfortable a child feels around other people. The fear of punishment, physical or verbal, determines how a child approaches an other child. Every student in school will most likely be unable to perfect each subject, but a student that is abused is unable to grasp this concept. They feel the need to perfect each subject and when they do not they feel like a failure. Failure is most likely not an option because, to the majority of the abused, failure equals some kind of

Lake concluded that there is "abundantly clear evidence" proving that childhood trauma will manifest in different way and will persist years after childhood into adulthood (Lake 2016). There is a direct association between childhood abuse and mood disorders including "major depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, and various personality disorders" as well as a correlation between physical and sexual abuse with post traumatic stress disorder (Lake 2016). Sandy Krammer, Birgit Kleim, Keti Simmen-Janevska, and Andreas Maerckerwrite in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation that "childhood traumatic events may lead to long-lasting psychological effects and contribute to the development of complex posttraumatic sequelae" (Krammer et al., 2016). The study done by Stephanie Lake shows proof and legitimacy

Maltreatment, commonly understood to include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as neglect, can be traumatic. The American Psychological Association, in conducting a Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study, uncover clues as to the link between childhood trauma and the development of personality disorders (American Psychological Association 1). Dr. Michael D. DeBellis discusses that during childhood through adolescence, the brain undergoes major structural changes, much of it in response to learning. The brain and stress response mechanisms are influenced by early experience due to underlying genetic programming. An abused child's ability to achieve age-appropriate behavioral, cognitive and emotional regulation may experience delays or deficits (DeBellis 2). Learning includes experiences, and the developing child engages in its understanding of the world. Since antisocial personality disorder develops before the age of fifteen through childhood, experiences during this time are crucial in determining the child’s perception of the world and how he or she will adapt to it.

According to the CDC (2014), 25% of maltreated children experience low academic achievement and according to Fitzpatrick et el. (2010) 49% adults in at least one study said they had never passed any college or state test that required academic skills. Maltreated children are more likely to be in special education, (CDC, 2014) having learning disorders, (CDC, 2014) perform poorer in mathematics (Gonzalez, 2013), do worse on tests (Gonzalez, 2013), and those that are physically abused are less likely to graduate from high school (CDC, 2014).

According to Carrell and Hoekstra (2010) children from troubled families decrease their peers’ test score outcomes and increase misbehavior. These findings are consistent with a much larger research such as that children exposed to domestic violence are associated with a number of emotional and behavioral problems including

Many children who experience abuse mentally, physically, or sexually tend to have troubles performing academically well in school. Maltreatment was predicted to negatively affect children 's academic and behavioral alteration through the creation of discrepancies in academic engagement, social capabilities, ego resiliency, and ego control (Shonk, S. M., & Cicchetti, D. 2001). My research question is to try and answer whether the association between child abuse by parents is related to the child’s academic performance. Child maltreatment is an important public health problem that affects more than 1 million children in the United States each year (Perzow, S. E. D., Petrenko, C. L. M., Garrido, E. F., Combs, M. D., Culhane, S. E., & Taussig, H. N., 2013). Nearly 5 million calls were made to child welfare agencies throughout the United States in 2000 to report child abuse, and about 2 million of the children discussed about in these calls were tried to be victims of child maltreatment (Crozier, J. C., & Barth, R. P.,2005). Compared to the general these students earn lower grades, have lower levels of overall standardized achievement, are at greater risk for grade repetition, and inexplicably drop out of school (Stone, S., & Zibulsky, J., 2015). Maltreatment is also associated with mental health problems, such as dissociation, that may damage academic

This method of research tests the hypothesis by using the data from the years spent of following children involved in cases of child maltreatment and abuse, and assessing them at age 41. Standardized testing was conducted through the use of the Matrix Reasoning Test and the Trail Making Test-Part B. An additional sign was PTSD serving as a link between the connection between abuse and executive functioning (Nikulina and Widom, 2013, p. 418). Predictions for this study include the prefrontal cortex is likely to be damaged after exposure to high stress and trauma (Nikulina and Widom, 2013, p.