Long-Term Consequences Of Child Abuse

Children are our future. They will shape future generations to come and the way our society deals with difficulties. One difficulty that is currently being addressed is child neglect. Child neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment (Sedlak et al 2010). Neglect includes physical neglect, emotional neglect, medical neglect and educational neglect. Although there may or may not be physical symptoms, neglect may be harder to identify right away. Neglect is often referred to as an act of omission as the parent or caregiver does not intentionally cause harm to the child, but the absence of care puts the child at risk of harm (Sedlak et al 2010). In 2007, the cost of child abuse and neglect was $103.8 billion, which includes immediate

There has been an enormous amount of research, going back almost thirty years, about the relationship between childhood trauma, and juvenile delinquency. Many researches cannot say that there is a direct link between the two, but after much research, researches have found that childhood trauma can perhaps be a predictor for juveniles who later in life commit crimes. Trauma is defined as, “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury,” because the definition is broad and can range from a variety of different events, for the purpose of this paper, the focus will be on neglect trauma in juveniles (Trauma, 2016). Neglect according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is, “the failure of a parent or other person with the responsibility for the child to provide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision such that the child’s health, safety and well-being are threatened with harm” (Kazemian, 2011).

The long term ramifications of child abuse and neglect are profound and may endure long after the maltreatment has occurred. Individuals that undergo such abuse either physically or mentally may affect various aspects of their development. The outcome of abuse and neglect can range from minor effects to fatal situations. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” Dill was emotionally damaged and neglected by his parents.

The issue of child neglect is one of the most current forms of child maltreatment especially in the United States. According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, child neglect is referred to as a kind of maltreatment which relates to the failure of a caregiver to offer the needed, age-appropriate care, despite the fact that the parent may be financially stable to do so (Conte 13). Neglect in many instances is described by an ongoing pattern that relates to lack of care and is observed by individuals in close contact with a child.

The conceptualisation of the long-term effects of child maltreatment reflects the surrounding circumstances which expose child abuse as a common event. Childhood abuse is a growing epidemic which evokes extreme emotional responses both privately and publicly and is viewed as a risk factor for an extensive variety of consequent problems. 2014 demonstrated that over 137,585 child abuse cases involving 99,210 Australian children were investigated (Australian Institute of Family Studies 2015). Abuse is categorised into neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Contrary to the implied supposition that emotional abuse is less injurious in comparison to sexual and physical abuse, emotional abuse ranked as the most commonly substantiated harm type in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australia Capital Territory (AIFS 2015). Childhood abuse occurs throughout a period where complex and ordered changes occur within a child’s physiological, psychological and sociological being. The following report will accentuate how the state of flux instigated by childhood abuse leaves children susceptible harmful consequences that will pervert or prevent a normal developmental procedure. Through psychological and physiological wellbeing, adult delinquency and the effects on different genders readers will be able to identify the harmful consequences childhood abuse places on victims and survivors.

401). An analysis of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2008) revealed that in 2008 the rate of reported infant maltreatment was 51.81 per 1000 children with children below the age of one having the greatest likelihood of being the subject of maltreatment with frequencies lessening with age (Fallon, et al., 2013, p. 2). Child neglect has come to be described as the “neglect of neglect,” as it has been minimized by physical and sexual abuse and exploitation; therefore, neglect is often overlooked and under identified. Furthermore, child neglect is often difficult to identify due to cultural and spiritual differences. What is often negligent for one family may be considered usual to another (Cowen, 1999, pp. 401-403). Consequently, infant neglect often results in social, mental and physical delays, adult traumatization (Harper, Stalker, Palmer, & Gadbois, 2008), and failure to thrive (FTT); the result of inadequate nutrition resulting in poor physical development and, in extreme cases, psychosocial short stature; a disorder of the pituitary and hypothalamus which causes the child to not only be underdeveloped in weight but also in height due to major emotional and psychological trauma (Block & Krebs, 2005, pp. 1234-1235).

Herb was a very loving little boy, who always tried to make everyone around him happy. He would climb up in your lap at the age of two or three, and whisper in your ear “I’m your boy, but don’t tell nobody”. Growing up, Herb was an accomplished athlete, and performed reasonably well academically. As Herb reached adulthood, he always took great strides to make the people around him feel happy and special. It was not unusual to find him helping his father on the farm or working on his sister’s car. The only payment he wanted was to see their smile and know he had helped. In adulthood, his little girl became the light of his life and no one suspected that there was a problem. Until the morning, his wife walked

As a child being a part of the welfare system can be challenging and have negative results on mental and physical health. Often society mistake “the system’s kids” to be delinquents who are consistently in trouble, have a hard time listening or following instructions from an authority figure, or children who cannot behave themselves. Many do not realize that most of these problems are psychological and can stem from the events at home. America’s population of child maltreatment victims, seventy-five percent are under the age of 12, these children are also at a higher risk for exhibiting delinquent behavior (Whitted & al, 2012). Abuse and neglect are two major risk factors that may lead a child to develop long lasting mental health impairments such as depression, low self-esteem and difficulties maintaining relationships in adulthood.

The article that I read was on long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse. The article covers many symptoms that survivors experience as a result of the abuse. Survivors are faced with trust issues, self-blame, and shame. Most of the sexual abuse is performed by someone the child trusts and loves. The effects are many and some that are abused even regress the abuse. Taking that first step to counseling or therapy is the start of the healing process.

Child sexual abuse is an ever-present, psychologically and physically damaging event that occurs daily to hundreds of children. Unfortunately, child sexual abuse is not going away any time soon and the lives of so many precious children are altered forever. These abused children often grow up to be psychologically damaged adults with emotional, cognitive and physical issues that may never be able to be conquered. Far too many adults live with the pain of their secret and it can be quite debilitating. Adults who were abused as children may have many problems in their

Childhood experiences and attachments are crucial to our emotional development. Children around this country are abused and neglected every second. “Childhood maltreatment also represents a serious public health concern, with an estimated 3.3 million referrals to child protective agencies for suspected child maltreatment in 2005” (Bentley & Widom, 2009). Those children who are abused eventually become adults whom suffered from childhood trauma. Although a trauma may be considered to be in the past, for many the scars are ever so present when moving throughout life. Individuals who haven’t be exposed to high doses of stress and trauma are ready to go into fight or flight at any moment, but when this system is started over and over again,

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).

Child Abuse can be a fundamental reason of causing issues for children and young people in physically and mentally. The primitive damage caused by child sexual abuse effect on the child’s developing capacities for trust, intimacy, agency and sexuality so that child sexual abuse is considered as a trigger of mental health problems and increase the risk of major depressive disorder in early adulthood or throughout their lifetime. There is a fact that those who have experience in childhood sexual abuse were at higher risk for a range of psychiatric disorders in adulthood than those not reporting such abuse according to the research in US. Disorders included attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder,

While the theoretical reasoning that supports the idea that child abuse often leads to crime gives a basis for the concept, much of the evidence that links the two lies in the concrete details. The visible effects of child abuse and neglect that assist with the basis that has been given by the psychological theories lies in observable behavioral and emotional effects of those who are known to have been subject to maltreatment as children. Some children who have a history with abuse do not experience any repercussions while others experience extreme consequences; this is largely because of the certain child’s ability to handle and grow from negative experiences (Child Welfare Information Gateway 3). Children who experience consequences

Child abuse and neglect have immediate and long-term consequences. In addition to negatively impacting the child, child abuse and neglect impacts the family, the school community, and even future generations. The ability to survive and be successful in the face of child abuse and neglect depends on a variety of factors, including the extent and type of abuse or neglect, whether it was continual or infrequent, the age of the child when abuse was initiated, the child’s relationship to the abuser, and how the abuse or neglect was responded to. Outcomes are also dependent on the child’s personality traits, inner strength, and the support the child receives from those around them. It is important to acknowledge that some children will not develop behavioral problems, so it cannot be assumed that a