Literature Review On Child 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 safety and security of many children across the world are in danger due to physical abuse. Child abuse has been linked to an assortment of changes in the brain which result in psychological, behavioral, and academic problems. While it is unclear whether the population that had been maltreated as children is accurate, physical maltreatment in the first 5 years of life places a child at risk for a variety of psychological and behavioral problems during adolescence. The following three literature reviews attempts to prove and support the premise.

Two factors correlating mental health and child development are abuse and neglect. All forms of abuse from physical, sexual, and emotional have a great impact on the consciousness of a child. Due to the damage abuse causes in their psychological development, children express themselves through their emotions and behavior (Mondal & Das, 2014). The physical aspect is the first thing that comes to mind when we come across the word abuse. It does not only stop at the visible scars and bruises, children can also be abused emotionally. Naturally, a child gravitates their biological mother, when the love and nurturing is absent and instead the void

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.

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.

Literature Review In this chapter, the theoretical framework guiding this study will be introduced and several dimensions of assessment salient to parents with child abuse histories will be explored. The theory of reasoned action will be presented as an orienting context for the examination of the LCSW assessment processes. Previous research on the intergenerational continuity of abuse will also be presented, as well as findings discussing psychiatric issues, intimate partner violence, substance abuse and criminal activity, parental stress, and parental competence as related to child abuse survivors.

The first step in preventing future sufferings is understanding the problem. Sara R. Jaffee and Cindy W. Christian, in their article, “ The Biological Embedding of Child Abuse and Neglect Implications for Policy and Practice” inform that child maltreatment often causes serious implications later in life, and can be explained by medical and psychological responses. Jaffee and Christian support this suggestion with studies and experiments conducted on adults with neglected pasts that show that “Victims of maltreatment differ from non-victims with respect to brain structure and function, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-(HPA) axis and autonomic nervous system function, immune function, and epigenetic markers”(Jaffee and Cindy 1). Jaffee and Cindy’s purpose is to inform readers of the medical and scientific explanations of the long term effects of child maltreatment in order to allow others to better understand the dire need to help the children suffering from maltreatment.

Child Abuse and Neglect continue to be a serious pediatric and social threat to the nation’s children. Child maltreatment is more than bruises and broken bones. While physical abuse may be the most noticeable, other types of abuse, such as emotional and sexual abuses, leave deep, lasting scars. Child Maltreatment includes significant negative experiences with long-lasting effects. These childhood experiences cause detrimental, long lasting effects during cognitive, behavioral, and emotional development and often well into adulthood. This paper will look at the various types of child maltreatment and the causes attributed to them, as well as the long term effects of child abuse and what can be done to prevent these abuses.

With the lack of certain resources, in the middle of my research, I decided to combine the details of the few cases I could find with my own knowledge of child abuse and with the small amount of information I discovered on www.headline.time.com to find out the mental process of a child who has experienced child abuse. This method helped me conduct my research of the mental process of a victim of child abuse, ultimately learning that a child who has experienced high-stress levels of maltreatment (child abuse) most likely has damage of the hippocampus which may affect his/her ability to cope with stress later in life. In other words, early stress makes the brain less resilient to the effects of later stress which leaves victims more vulnerable to depression, addiction, and post-traumatic stress

In recent years, there have been numerous studies and research evidence presented that expose the negative effects that early maltreatment and adversity, as well as poor parent-child attachments can have on children. The 2012 Children’s Bureau reported that an estimated 1,640 children died from maltreatment that year. Of that number, 70% experienced neglect and 44% experienced abuse (USDHHS, 2012). This maltreatment, according to the Modified Maltreatment Classification System, includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect (English & Longscan Investigators, 1997). A majority of studies focus on the neurological, physiological, environmental and behavioral consequences, but few studies have examined the effect early adversity has

As physical abuse resulting in brain damage often has ramifications for psychological development (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013). Problems with psychological development can surface as high-risk behaviours. The adverse outcomes of abuse vary depending on exposure and experience of individuals, not every child is affected in the same way (CFCA, 2014). However, experiencing physical abuse between the ages of 0 to 12 impacts on their quality of life as an adult (Blue knot foundation, 2017). This paper deals with children who have suffered physical abuse between the ages 0 to 12. Focusing on effects for behavioural development at hallmarks, including; infancy, toddler age, preschool, primary school and

Child maltreatment, whether it be in the form of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, is a multifaceted problem, the understanding of which requires identifying individual, family, social, and cultural related factors. Abuse survivors often have problems with interpersonal relationships, substance abuse, depression, and psychosocial functioning in general.

Anda, R.F., Felitti, V.J., Bremner, J.D., Walker, J.D., Whitfield, C., Perry, B.D., Dube, S.R. & Giles, W.H. (2006). The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood: A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. 256: 174-186.

Children can be subjected to the negative effects of parental substance use in a variety of different ways. For example, substance use during pregancy can cause detrimental outcomes for newborn infants by placing them at a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), being born with birth defects, developing behavioral and developmental delays, being born premature, etc. Children with addicted parents, are placed at a higher risk of: lacking appropriate supervision; lacking basic needs such as: food, clothing, housing, and medical care; exposure to violence; developing substance abuse issues themselves.

Child abuse is a serious social problem in the world. Child abuse is defined as physical, emotional, and sexual maltreatment by their parents, caregiver, and other people. The goal of this survey is to gather information about how people are aware of the child abuse in their community and society. My survey had five questions that were a mixture of close-ended and open-ended questions. Questionnaires help to get an appropriate response from the participant. The sample of this survey takes from a random population, such as international students and United States citizens.