Child Abuse And Its Effects On Children

What is child abuse? From the word “abuse” we can understand that it is some sort of a maltreatment of a child, causing harm and damage both to his physical and psychological well-being. At the Federal level, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) describes child abuse and neglect as: “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.” Child abuse is a very substantial and widely spread problem in U.S. affecting children of any age, gender, race, background or income, with almost 3 million cases reported every year and on average, killing more than 4 children every day . The main issue of child abuse is that the abuser is usually someone a child loves or depends on (a parent, step-parent, sibling, coach, neighbor, etc.), who violates child’s trust putting personal interests first, therefore official numbers of how many children suffer maltreatment might be not accurate enough as remarkable amount of these cases go unreported. Each case of child abuse is unique, with a lot of individual factors involved, nevertheless, we can distinguish some of the common causes, such as poverty, lack of education, depression, mental or physical health problems, alcohol/drug addictions, social isolation, marital problems, insecure attachments between a parent and a child, etc.

Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. There are four major categories: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and child sexual abuse (Levi, Lo, Selby, and Vandenburg). Neglect is a passive form of abuse in which a perpetrator is responsible to

What is child abuse? From the word “abuse” we can understand that it is some sort of a maltreatment of a child, causing harm and damage both to his physical and psychological well-being. At the Federal level, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) describes child abuse and neglect as: “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.” Child abuse is a very substantial and widely spread problem in U.S. affecting children of any age, gender, race, background or income, with more than 1.8 million investigations done every year and on average, killing more than 5 children every day. The main issue of child abuse is that the abuser is usually someone a child loves or depends on (a parent, sibling, coach, neighbor, etc.), who violates child’s trust putting personal interests first, therefore official numbers of how many children suffer maltreatment might be not accurate enough as remarkable amount of these cases go unreported. Each case of child abuse is unique, with a lot of individual factors involved, nevertheless, we can distinguish some of the common causes, such as poverty, lack of education, depression, mental or physical health

In the typical classroom, a 4-year-old child once said, “If someone wants to have sex with you, you have to do it.” (Rafanello) Child abuse is more prevalent now than ever, and the numbers are only growing. This shows us that child abuse is more relevant now than ever. The amount of damage inflicted on these children mentally range from mild to extreme. This is why it’s important that child abuse gets reported as soon as possible.

Back in the day there were not as many child protecting laws and assisting facilities like there are today. In 1960’s there was very little information as it relates to child abuse. A Canadian psychologist by the name of William L. Marshall said, “you could read all the information in one morning. With the lack of information there was no way for individuals to readily identify what constituted as child abuser. Child abuse before 1875 was in fact the era before child services were created to protect the children.

The maltreatment of children within the United States is an unfortunate but evident issue that presents some very detrimental consequences for the victims. Victims of child maltreatment typically suffer from both short-term and long-term consequences, resulting from the negligence of their parents. Across the nation techniques and measures have been taken in order to prevent the advancement of child abuse within high-risk homes, although despite these efforts sometimes it is too late for the child and the damage is too extensive for them to recover completely.

According to ehow.com, child abuse is defined by federal law as, "Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or care taker ,which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sex abuse or exploitation." Child abuse is really a very critical problem in our society because it has long lasting social, mental/ emotional, and physical effects on an individual. I have witnessed these effects on close friends and relatives. So I would like to know what exactly is child abuse and the long term effects.

Child Maltreatment, a general term for both child abuse and neglect, is one of the most shocking and leading problems in the United States. The federal government defined child abuse and neglect in the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) as “physical and mental injury, sexual abuse, negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child under the age of 18 by a person who is responsible for the child’s health or welfare” (Springer, Sheridan, Kuo, & Carnes, n.d).

Of all the reported American child maltreatment in 2013, 79.5% of victims experienced neglect, more than four times the victims that were physically abused (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Neglect is one of the most common forms of child maltreatment and public awareness of this problem was raised in the 1960s by the work of C. Henry Page 1 of 1Kempe which described the battered-child syndrome. It was only then that child maltreatment was regarded as a serious social problem. Since then, a new field has grown, with professionals researching to understand the problem and effective interventions needed and yet, neglect is still often given less attention than child physical and sexual abuse. The signs of neglect are usually less visible than the physical signs of abuse but it is just as detrimental to the general early development of children as abuse. By examining the consequences of neglect in children on their cognitive development, the problem can be slowly addressed and resolved to a certain extent. Not only does it affect cognitive, language and emotional development in children, it can also result in long term consequences such as poor academic performance and attachment problems. However, research has shown that an enriching environment given to the children once they are out of an environment of neglect can promote resilience which to a certain extent can recover the effects of neglect on various aspects of development.

In my research paper, I am going to discuss the negative effects that child maltreatment has on a child throughout their childhood and their life. Child maltreatment is defined as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2007). Child maltreatment includes physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, as well as neglect and failure to supervise (Franks, Miller, Schelble, 2010).

The term child abuse can be defined as any behavior directed toward a child by a parent, guardian, caregiver, or other family member, that endangers a child’s physical or emotional health and development. However, perpetrators of child abuse or neglect are most likely the child’s own parent. According to NCANDS, in 2005, 79.4 percent of perpetrators

6.3 million children are affected by child abuse each year. Of those 6.3 million children, only 3 million are investigated by child health care services. A report of child abuse is reports every ten seconds (“Child Abuse Statistics and Facts”). When people think of child abuse, many think of it as just physical bruises and broken bones. Although that most definitely is a huge part of child abuse, there are also many different kinds. Children can abused by neglect, sexually, physically, mentally and emotionally. Children all ages can suffer from child abuse, and the aggressor could be anyone; not just someone closely related to the child.

Abstract: Childhood abuse has been present throughout many years but it has never been brought into life as it is today. The child’s brain is just as a sponge, absorbing every detail of their daily lives. If the child lives in an environment where there is abuse, that child in the future will do the same because it was what he got used to. Many parents use violence as a form of punishment when they do not realize that by only being violent, they are creating a trauma on the child which can lead in the future to depression, substance abuse, physical abuse and losing touch of reality. Even though children have to learn to have an education, do not resort to abuse.

Life is full of unfortunate tragedies and wonderful surprises and learning to balance the emotions of each event. For some, life is more tragic than others and starts earlier than others. Children in particular are vulnerable to these tragic events because they are unable to properly defend themselves, depending on their size and communication ability. Child abuse and neglect are problems that are happening to children all across the world. David Pelzer, author of the autobiographic book A Child Called It, was an American child who experienced child abuse and is still feelings its effects to this very day. His mother committed audacious acts against him. He was lucky enough to be rescued at the age of twelve. Parts of his story will be

Child Abuse. How does one decide what constitutes abuse? Is there a thin line between abuse and discipline? We often hear the horrific stories of child abuse in our communities, but are we as a society so used to hearing these stories that we have become desensitized to them?