Childhood Emotional Abuse

Childhood traumas (i.e, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and mental abuse) have been proven to have significant negative effects on the development and mental state of a person (Lochner, Seedat, Allgulander, Kidd, Stein, & Gerdner, 2010). Countless amounts of treatments and program are in place in an attempt to reduce the effects of these maltreatments during childhood and to reduce the risk of future psychological disorders (Maniglio, 2013). This paper will argue,

The present research is aimed at providing an account of early childhood abuse and its effects on further emotional development. A first focus falls on outlining the psychological stages of emotional development and the notion of emotional response, followed by a thorough analysis of the child abuse spectrum together with effects, both early and belated, of general and most notably socio-emotional nature.

& Li, 2001). With the brain developing at its fastest rate in childhood, it is especially

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.

Challenges have varied throughout my life in both health complications and society itself. Early trauma has conflicted my mom for sometime whose brothers died in a horrendous drowning accident in 1979 . As life progressed and I came into the world, drug addiction and other illnesses manifested in our outside family, eventually making its way to my older sister. These events at a young age helped me understand reality faster than a normal person.

The role of serotonin on the mood of depressed patients is not fully understood. Studies show that a shortage of serotonin affects an area of brain that predominates emotions: the amygdala. (2) This almond-shaped brain region connects emotions to our sensory perceptions and appears particularly important in the formation of negative emotions. A lack of serotonin makes the amygdala more susceptible to sensory stimuli. In an experiment where they temporarily lowered serotonin levels in the brain in healthy subjects, they recorded a stronger reaction of the amygdala. (3) Foreign studies confirm this role of amygdala during depression.

The discovery that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can effectively treat anxiety disorders has led to the Serotonin Theory. The Serotonin theory indicates that serotonin mediated neurotransmitters in the brain may be involved in anxiety disorders. The fact that some antidepressant agents relieve symptoms of both anxiety and depression disorders indicate that there may be a correlation between the two disorders. Information also indicates a correlation between genetic susceptibility in depression and anxiety disorders (Lundbeck Institute, 2008.)

Traumatic events are defined as those in which an individual experiences, witnesses, or confronted with actual or threatened death, serious injury, or threatened physical integrity of self or others (DSM-V). Children are exposed to various experiences that can be traumatic for them. Childhood traumatic experiences may stem from experiences that were of a violent nature, physical, psychological or sexual. Children are often witnesses to physical violence in the homes, domestic violence against the parent. They are exposed to gun violence, drugs/substance abuse, and homelessness. Some children live in households where family members are incarcerated, mentally ill or have experienced a tragic loss as a result of death.

Psychological maltreatment has two components: emotional/psychological abuse (verbal aggression, threats of harm or confinement) and emotional/psychological neglect (insufficient nurturing, insufficient love, unwillingness to offer appropriate care and/or permitting actions such as drug abuse or misconduct). Psychological maltreatment includes unwillingness to accept the young boy or girl’s value, keeping the child from their family and/or friends, verbally attacking, frightening or bullying the little one, ignoring and encouraging them to become a part of defiant and hurtful actions. In my career, I will use this knowledge to recognize when a child has been emotionally/psychologically abused and report it to the Oklahoma Child Abuse Hotline

Charlie went through repressing intense feelings caused by a series of unfortunate events in his life. When a childhood trauma is unresolved it can lead to future intimacy problems. For example, as Sam and Charlie became intimate, he becomes uncomfortable, “ It was like everything made sense. Until she moved her hands under my pants, and she touched me. That’s when I stopped her.” Despite the fact that he wanted this to happen since the day he met her, he couldn’t go through with it. When an individual experiences trauma as a child, being physically and emotionally intimate becomes a task as one grows older. The ‘unresolved emotional trauma’ he suffered deprived him of the simplest of things, loving back.

The chapter outlines nonphysical consequences of physical abuse, and the first thing that is mentioned is that abused children tend to have intellectual problems. If the children are being assessed on intellectual abilities through their academic success, can we really tell if there is a difference in intellect? The children could instead be less motivated and less willing to put forth the same effort as children that were not in abusive situations. Another question that I had while reading the chapter was whether or not there is a link between childhood physical abuse and the development of Alzheimer’s later in life. Abused children can develop depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, aggressive behaviors, and some even repress the memories. For those

Childhood victimization and maltreatment is a widespread issue that has frequently been a topic of conversation among mental health professionals. While much research has focused on the behavior and treatment of the perpetrator, the abusive parent, a topic of significant concern is the breadth of consequences, both short and long term, that may be faced by the victim of child abuse (Malinosky-Rummell & Hansen, 1992). Short term impacts of abuse can present as lower intellectual functioning or academic achievement, as well as negative social behaviors or depression. Of particular attention are the enduring affects, rather than the immediate consequences, specifically what an adult may look like after experiencing abuse or neglect in their childhood.

Summary: Due to the increase in child abuse over the years, this study was done to determine if child physical abuse (CPA) is a leading factor in psychological issues among adults (Sugaya et al., 2012). Sugaya et al. goes on to discuss the cost of it in the United States and current rate of child abuse today. CPA victims continue into adulthood, often experiencing mental health problems, as well as suicidal thoughts or attempts (Sugaya et al., 2012). They discuss the common psychological disorders that are often seen in cases of physical child

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 today’s society, child abuse is widespread and has an affect on everyone who comes across it. The act of child abuse happens everyday to a variety of kids who are typically younger and scared to tell anyone. All children are born with the right to be able to develop, grow, live and love according to their needs and feelings. For a child 's development they need protection and reassurance from adults who love them and help them acquire the skills to be a successful adult. However, some children are neglected and hurt by adults that they trust. The abuse a child receives makes them feel bad about themselves, and it is much worse when it occurs within a family because it makes them feel unloved and alone causing them to have problems. “Abuse of all types was more frequent in those from disturbed and disrupted family backgrounds. Logistic regressions indicated that some, though not all, of the apparent associations between abuse and adult problems was accounted for by this matrix of childhood disadvantage from which abuse so often emerged. Numerous studies have investigated the psychological sequelae of childhood trauma, including posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD), dissociation, personality disorder, and substance abuse ”(“New Retrospective Measure of Child Abuse and Neglect” by David P. Bernstein). The act of child abuse causes kids to have one or more mental problems. Additionally, since people do not recognize the abuse while it is occurring, it causes these problems to