Child Abuse And Neglect: A Case Study

Childhood maltreatment is a prevalent problem through out the world. As a child grows and matures the brain continues to develop according its experiences. During this time sensitive periods of development for different areas of the brain. A few areas that are of interest are the stress-influenced areas, which are at an increased risk for developmental problems when exposed to maltreatment. The extra stress from such exposures can influence abnormalities throughout the brain, which have been linked to structure changes with in the corpus callosum, anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal, orbitofrontal cortex, and hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum, as well as changes to stress related hormone systems. These structural changes are associated with an increased risk of psychopathology and other life long educational and physiological risk.

Child neglect is a form of maltreatment. In other words, it is the failure of parents, guardians or caregivers to meet the child’s needs such as adequate supervision, clothes, shelter, food, health treatments, education and nurturing their emotional, physical, cognitive and mental development. In this paper, we will talk about early childhood neglect from ages birth to five years old, and the benefits of child welfare-supervised children 's participation in center-based Early Care and Education (ECE). Additionally, we will focus on an evidence-based intervention in which we will explore the program’s benefits and positive outcomes for the children that attend the program in contrast to the ones that do not. Moreover, we will identify the correct system of care and some of the programs within the tri-county area that might implement this intervention. Additionally, we will talk about the demographics of the children and setting of which intervention is best for them. Lastly, we will give an estimation of how many sessions are needed for the intervention to work, and what sorts of trainings might be necessary for the well-being of the child.

Child abuse is when a parent or caregiver, through action or failure to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. According to The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, as amended by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010, at a minimum, child abuse and neglect is defined 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 (Children 's Bureau, 2010)." The law recognizes a child as being any person who is under the age of 18. The law is broken into 2 sections, and each section treats the idea of child maltreatment in different ways. Criminally, those who abuse children are able to be arrested and prosecuted in court. Civil statutes say that people who suspect a child of being abused are mandated to identify and report it.

However, to understand the impact of adversity on young children’s development and learning, our genes supply the basic blueprint for brain development. “Thus, toxic stress in early childhood not only is a risk factor for later risky behavior but also can be a direct source of biological injury or disruption that may have lifelong consequences independent of whatever circumstances might follow later in life (Shonoff and Garner, 2012, page 238). Poverty, neglect, or family stress can make it especially difficult for young children to develop the self-discipline and habits of mind they will need to succeed in the classroom and beyond. Researchers have found that chronic, sustained stress, such as that caused by neglect, abuse, or deprivation,

The water-soluble neurotransmitters, on the other hand, only last for seconds (3). This persistance of the stress hormones makes it hard for the brain to return to its natural, unstressed state.

The effect of toxic stress on a child’s early development is crucial to their future. It is proven that children who have experienced neglect and abuse have different CT scans of the brain, than that of a child who has not been neglected nor abused. The effects of neglect on children’s brains that are still developing are detrimental, and can cause behavioral, physiological, and also target their cognitive and language centers of the brain. Neglect and Child abuse are most prominent in foster care homes, most children who have been through the system experience some sort of abuse before and/or during their presence in the system. While placing children into equally stressful situations as an attempt to lessen the stress, we are creating a deadly cycle. After the child has been neglected and the neurological destruction is prominent, the effects of that neglect will arise into a new situation down the road. (Health). It is crucial that we know what is going on in these foster homes, so the cycle is not one to be repeated. The purpose of the

It is estimated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human services that one million children are victims of child abuse and neglect in the U.S every year. This number may be an underrepresentation however, as many cases are unreported. Children who experience trauma in early childhood years or adolescence have impacts that follow them throughout adulthood. The common effects include relationship attachment issues, mental disorders, substance abuse, increased

It has been known, for many years, that childhood maltreatment, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, interparental violence, and sexual abuse, has an adverse effect on a developing child. These effects have been thought to be linked to adults later having cognitive deficits and mental disorders when compared to adults with no history of childhood maltreatment (Tomoda, Polcari, Anderson, & Teicher, 2012). It has also been shown that adults who experience childhood maltreatment are more prone to many medical illnesses than their healthy counterparts (Keeshin, Cronholm, & Strawn, 2012). With more recent advances in technology, scientists have been able to research exactly how childhood maltreatment affects development through methods such as MRI, fMRI, and genetic tests (Teicher, Anderson, & Polcari, 2012). Using these findings, scientists have begun to show how childhood maltreatment affects adults later in life. The following literature will support the claim that childhood maltreatment leads to abnormal neurological development which can later have adverse effects on the adult’s mental and physical health.

Biologically, childhood maltreatment can have an effect on cortisol regulation (Alink, Cicchetti, Kim, and Rogosch, 2012). Cortisol is stress hormone produced by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis (Alink, et al., 2012). In response the stress, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is released by the hypothalamus (Alink, et al., 2012). The release of CRH triggers the pituitary gland to release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which then causes adrenal cortex to release corticosteroids (cortisol) (Alink, et al., 2012). The sensitivity of the HPA axis receptors may decrease or increase when stress is prolonged (Alink, et al., 2012).. This alteration is the HPA axis affects cortisol production, and

There are also some factors that affect the consequences of child abuse and neglect. Individual outcomes vary widely and are affected by a combination of factors, including: the child’s age and developmental status when the abuse or neglect occurred, the type of maltreatment (physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, etc.), the frequency, duration, and severity of the maltreatment, and the relationship between the child and the perpetrator (Floor, 2013). Child abuse and neglect can have a multitude of long-term effects on physical health. If a child is being neglected they might not have the essentials they need to survive so their physical health can be in jeopardy if they aren’t being fed properly or

Almost all childhood neglect occurs during the brain development time period. Brain development is the process of creating and discarding connections between neurons called synapses. (Child Info Gateway). These synapses are developed based on the child's environment and the stimulus received by the brain. Infants brains' develop as they immerse in an environment

There are a variety of films that entail child abuse and neglect experiences. The film “Precious” is a great example of someone experiencing abuse and neglect. It focuses on the life of an African American female named Precious whose life involves various types of abuse. Precious is a young, overweight, African American female living with her abusive mother who does nothing but watch television and collect welfare through fraud. Precious is also a young teen mother to two children who were conceived through rape by her biological father. Due to being sexually abused by her biological father, Precious’ mother resented her and blamed for the sexual abuse, which resulted in her becoming physically and verbally abusive towards Precious. She has never had a support system aside from her mother, who has lived to belittle and abuse her. Precious is an illiterate sixteen-year-old who had difficulties in school, thus resulting in her being referred to attend an alternative school. However, her mother believed that having an education was not important and wanted Precious to focus on collecting welfare in order to bring more money into their home. Due to the various types of abuse she had experienced, Precious had an extremely low self-esteem. However, while attending the alternative school she began gaining some confidence and believing in herself and thinking about her future plans in order to have a better life for herself and her two children. Throughout the

In many cases of neglect, there has been an association with the brain failing to form appropriately. This causes impaired physical, mental, and emotional development (DePanfilis, 2006). A child's brain learns to adapt to a less than positive environment and this stunts the process of normal development. The brains of neglected children are not integrated and this causes difficulties in emotional, social, and cognitive development. The sensitive period, during the first two years of life, is a critical time in which brain activity faces severe psychosocial deprivation if faced with neglect and is unlikely to be recovered (Vanderwert, Marshall, Nelson III, Zeanah & Fox, 2010).

Not all children can or will be negatively affected by neglect – they are essentially resilient. Being resilient means “being able to recover easily from difficult circumstances, bounce back and persevere, able to adjust to misfortune, and are adaptable” (McCoy & Keen, 2014, p. 230). Unfortunately, not every child can be resilient and the consequences can severely impact the child growing up. When determining whether a child will be resilient or not, it is important to look at the duration of the neglect as well as the severity (McCoy & Keen, 2014, p. 114). “A child’s experience of abuse and neglect during their developmental years poses a negative effect, not only physically, but also psychologically… (Gibb & Abela, 2008; Stirling & Amaya-Jackson, 2008)” (Ban, J., & Oh, I., 2016).

With child abuse and neglect being so prevalent globally, it is important to recognize why these types of maltreatment occur and is a relevant topic for all to explore. Many are interested in how child abuse and neglect affect the individuals who are victims as well as the use and efficacy of treatment procedures. Child abuse has serious physical and psycho-social consequences which adversely affect the health and overall well-being of a child. There are long-term consequences of experiencing these forms of maltreatment. Awareness and understanding needs to be brought to this devastatingly common crisis and the advancement of child abuse and neglect prevention needs to be encouraged.