Childhood Abuse Summary

Assessment of the core emotional needs underpinning complex behaviour is paramount for intervention to be effective (Cairns, 2002). An immense challenge for client’s who have experienced abuse is that their developmental growth is affected and they struggle for autonomy, independence and identity without a secure base (Daniel, Wassail, & Gilligan, 2002). They are struggling to execute developmental tasks with abilities and skills that have been damaged by

The research found that a history of severe childhood abuse is to be found in approximately half of adults with bipolar disorder with multiple forms of having occurred in about a third. Distinct negative impacts on clinical outcome were associated with childhood physical, sexual or emotional abuse histories, with evidence suggesting more extensive suicidality, rapid cycling and possibly comorbid substance misuse associated with multiple forms of childhood abuse. This study helped me come to the conclusion that Marya was not sexually abuse as a child. In my opinion since the study suggest that only half of the 100 people showed symptoms of severe childhood and sexual abuse was included within this half it is not enough evidence to conclude that our client Marya has been sexually abused.

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

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

There are significant signs of psychological trauma due to any kind of abuse. Children experience feelings of low self esteem and depression. Many exhibit behavioral problems including aggression towards other children. Other emotional problems include hostility, fear, humiliation and the inability to express feelings. The social impacts of physical abuse include inability to form relationships, poor social skills, poor cognitive language skills, distrust of others, over-compliance with authority figures, and tendency to solve interpersonal problems with aggression. (2008, p. 1). Verbal and physical abuse has a cumulative impact on children’s socialization. Abused children are caught in damaged relationships and are not socialized in positive, supportive way (Craig & Dunn, Ex.: 2010, p. 196). They learn defiance, manipulation and other problem behaviors that are used to escape any maltreatment. In turn they will learn to exploit, degrade and terrorize.

Thank you for participating in my survey on childhood abuse and its link to self-harm. I promise this will only take a few minutes of your time. As you work through the survey, please be advised that you can change your answer at any time, but please try to be honest when answering.

The Adverse Childhood Experience(ACE) score is a scale which was created to measure the amount of harsh conditions an individual has experienced throughout his or her childhood (Levenson & Grady, 2016, p.95). “It has become a useful and well researched tool for measuring the accumulation of traumatic events related to child maltreatment and family dysfunction” (Levenson & Grady, 2016, p.95). “Items in the ACE score include: emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; witnessing household violence; substance abuse; household mental illness; and having an incarcerated household member…physical and emotional neglect and parental separation/divorce” (Fox, Perez, Cass, Baglivio, & Epps, 2015, p. 165). However, this paper will solely focus on the three types of abuse, both types of neglect, domestic violence, incarcerated member of household, and substance abuse.

The article which I read was called "Child abuse and neglect and adult intimate relationships: a prospective study" by Rebecca A. Colman and Cathy Spatz Widom.

In the book Child Maltreatment: An introduction, third edition, chapter 9 discusses “Controversial Issues in the Study of Child Maltreatment”. In this chapter, the author expresses their views on child maltreatment and the concerns regarding cases of abuse. They begin with the concerns about overreporting and alleged false allegations. The voice in this section expresses concerns about the integrity of claims from the (alleged) victims of abuse-- wondering if the abuse occurred or could the “victim” have been persuaded to believe they were a victim. This section includes the idea that children may even create false accusations about behaviors of abuse.

Another study by Sara et al. (2013) also explored how adverse events are related to bipolar illness. Along with physical and sexual abuse, the study emphasized on emotional abuse. The study had many aims. Firstly, the researchers wanted to find out if childhood trauma was associated with an earlier age of onset. Secondly, whether trauma resulted in reduced Global Assessment Functioning in the participants. Lastly, they were interested in finding out if specific and different types of trauma were related to different characteristics of the disorder. Adverse childhood events were measured by using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. This questionnaire was completed by 141 participants who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder according to DSM-IV. The participants were between 18 to 65 years old. Childhood

I fell asleep just in the middle of the hallway hoping that all of this was just a dream. I woke up feeling like i had been drinking all last night. I hated myself for killing an innocent cat. I went outside because i felt like i had to because i was so disgusted. I threw up all my insides so i went back inside to ask for treats to possibly to feel better about myself and this whole situation. I went over to the main room to beg to fill my empty stomach. The mom got up and fed me a decent amount of treats. This made me feel great for the time being totally forgetting about the cat and the whole fight. Once i ate them all i felt that sadness and sickness that was lurking in me still. I figure that the treats were a temporary cure for the disease

Maltreatment is defined as “volitional acts that result or have the potential to result in physical injuries and/ or psychological harm” (Crooks & Wolfe, 2007, cited in Stirling, 2009). There are 2 main types of maltreatment: Relational (happens within a critical relationship) and Non-Relational (happens within a non-critical relationship).

DSS received a report of physical neglect and threat of harm physical abuse on July 23, 2016. Sargent Adrian Patton and Officer Brandy Edwards responded to a child found at Cedar Springs Rd. and Union St. Spartanburg, SC. The was identified as Treshawn Talley (10) was found at the Bronco’s restaurant by two restaurant goers. It is noted that Treshawn was viewed waving his hands and crying, and he stated he was lost and needed a ride home, so law enforcement was called. Once officer Edwards arrived Treshawn stated that he had walked to a friend’s house to play video games and once he left he was trying to walk back home, but he got lost. Treshawn alleged physical abuse by his father Anthony Harris, stating, “my dad beats me”, he further states

Although all therapists are aware of the childhood emotional abuse issue, it is possible that only few therapists understand the scope of the issue. Emotional maltreatment is harder to detect than other forms of abuse because it is more subtle. When Child Protective Services (CPS) conduct family assessments, it is the hardest form of abuse to prove because parents are very open about the topic and emotional abuse does not leave any physical evidence behind. However, it certainly influences a child's self-esteem, promotes the feeling of guilt, insecurity, and creates the inability to form stable relationships during adulthood. Although some behavioral disorders are related to emotional abuse, it is not possible to predict it correctly

In order to conduct the research, twenty-nine children and their families were selected from 426 different areas within England, Wales and Scotland. Some parents refused to take part in the research, while 76% agreed to be interviewed (Meltzer et al. 2009). The research that was organized determined that the violence affects different age groups and sexes in different ways.