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Maltreatment Of Children Essay

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Maltreatment of children and adults with physical disabilities has been a major social concern. Several researchers have concluded that children and adults with disabilities are more likely to be at risk for maltreatment than children or adults of the general population. The ecological theory considers the environment as an interactive set of systems consisting of the macrosystem, exosystem, microsystem and individual/developmental levels, which are nested within one another that help us understand the complexity surrounding child and adult maltreatment in several ways. At the macrosystem level, several risk factors have been identified that include societal views devaluing the disabled, race/poverty, architectural barriers to escape and lack of accessibility to and in shelters (Fried, 2001; National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1996; Saxton et al., 2001). As a result of the negative stereotypes given to children and adults with physical disabilities, many laws were enacted; one in particular was the Disabilities Act of 1990. This act has contributed greatly to the elimination of architectural barriers and equal treatment for individuals with disabilities by making provisions for the physically disabled. At the exosystem level, social isolation, lack of social support and …show more content…

al., 2013). Characteristic factors that are relevant to the maltreatment of people with disabilities include gender, personal and behavioral characteristics. For example, research has concluded that in children with disabilities, boys were more often abused and maltreated than girls. A hypothesis also made by Goldson reported that parents in the U.S. have the tendency to respond more negatively to their sons with disabilities (Goldson,

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