Research Analysis : Child Maltreatment

Studies have shown a clear correlation between childhood sexual assault (CSA) and negative sexual experiences later in life. Of relevance to the criminal justice system, these later forms of sexual victimization include sexual assault and sex work. The relationship between CSA and adverse sexual development is a correlation between two things, not a direct pathway from cause to effect. While survivors of sexual assault are at a higher risk of experiencing these later forms of victimization, this correlation represents a highly complex process involving a wide range of mediating factors and the intersections between them. Any experience of sexual assault is highly traumatic. Survivors of CSA, however, represent a unique population, because their trauma occurs near the start of the human developmental process and therefore alters all development thereafter.

It has been observed that sexually abused children tend to be less socially competent, more aggressive, and more socially withdrawn than non-abused children. A specific interpersonal effect of sexual abuse among children is that of increased sexual behavior. This is prominent when we were

The maltreatment of children occurs at extraordinarily increasing proportions and is becoming a significant health risk to the children it is happening to. One of the major public health concerns should be identifying the risk factors associated with the maltreatment of these children and the just how much resistance these children really have against this abuse. Regardless of how much elasticity the general public in a whole may think these children have against maltreatment, they are still at a major risk of having diminished or compromised psychological and physical health later in life as an adult and are also are at extreme risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Children who were not subject to maltreatment are still

Although some kinds of sexual behaviors are quite common among non-abused children (for example, kissing, touching genitals manually), sexually abused children tend to engage in a greater number of sexual behaviors than their non-abused peers, many of which are developmentally talented and seemingly imitative of adult sexual activity. Such behavior not only may result in interpersonal rejection or stigmatization by the victim 's peer environment, but also may lead to social sanctions and punishments when it escalates into the victimization of other children. As adults, survivors report a greater fear of both men and women. They are more likely to remain single and, once married, are more likely to divorce or separate from their spouses than are those without sexual abuse histories. Sexual abuse survivors typically report having fewer friends, less interpersonal trust, less satisfaction in their relationships, more maladaptive interpersonal patterns and greater discomfort, isolation, and interpersonal sensitivity. It is said that adults victimized as children may see themselves as unworthy of relationships with people they consider good or healthy, and that some victims may attempt to gain mastery over the abuse experience by recreating it in the form of involvement in poor or abusive relationships. In

A meta- analysis conducted showed significant correlations between childhood sexual abuse and PTSD, depression, suicide, sexual promiscuity, the victim-perpetrator cycle, and academic performance (Paolucci, Genuis and Violato, 2001). Horwitz, Widom, McLaughlin, & Raskin White (2001) suggested childhoods sexual abuse acts as stress factor that amplifies the impact stressful life events. Spataro and Mullen (2004) looking at childhood sexual abuse survivors over a 20 year period had three times greater risk of having anxiety and acute stress disorders and five time higher rate of personality disorders than controls.

Childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) involves abuse and neglect and is typically associated with persistent and extreme denial of a child’s basic emotional needs (Barnett, Manly, & Cicchetti, 1993). CEM is highly prevalent, as demonstrated in both clinical and nonclinical samples, including college students (Egeland, 2009; Scher, Forde, McQuaid, & Stein, 2004; Spinazzola et al., 2014). For instance, CEM is reported by approximately one third of university counseling center clients (Braver, Bumberry, Green, & Rawson, 1992; Wright, Crawford, & Del Castillo, 2009). Research has principally focused on more “objective” forms of childhood maltreatment, such as sexual and physical abuse, leaving CEM—an intrinsic aspect of most if not all forms of childhood maltreatment—being seriously understudied (Egeland, 2009; Hart & Brassard, 1987; Spinazzola et al., 2014; Wright et al., 2009). Accumulating evidence from recent studies, however, points to the serious consequences of CEM (Bernstein, Measelle, Laurent, Musser, & Ablow, 2013; Egeland, 2009; Gibb, Chelminski, & Zimmerman, 2007; Spertus, Yehuda, Wong, Halligan, & Seremetis, 2003; Spinazzola et al., 2014; Yates, 2007). For instance, several studies have demonstrated a relationship between CEM and victimization (Crawford & Wright, 2007; Gobin & Freyd, 2009; Renner & Slack, 2006) as well as dating violence (Wekerle et al., 2009). Yet, few if any studies have addressed the potential significance of the more subtle, but no less

In my research paper, I am going to discuss the negative effects that child maltreatment has on a child throughout their childhood and their life. Child maltreatment is defined as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2007). Child maltreatment includes physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, as well as neglect and failure to supervise (Franks, Miller, Schelble, 2010).

Child maltreatment or child abuse is defined as any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent of caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitations; or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk or serious harm (Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). The definition of child abuse and neglect varies depending on the state and it is based on standards set by federal law. This review will focus on how big this issue is in the United States, and will inform about the types of child maltreatment that are most common, how child maltreatment correlates with other issues such as poverty and substance abuse; types of syndromes, and what can be done to protect the children and get them out of the risky and dangerous situations.

Recognizing the detrimental affects of maltreatment that children are exposed to in the United States can be rather alarming. Consistent data regarding the recognition of child physical abuse (CPA) and existing screening tools, however, are still lacking. Furthermore, recognizing adverse childhood experiences as a complex event may be a key aspect of devising comprehensive interventions to prevent their occurrence and limit their impact. The need to train child health care professionals on child maltreatment and mental health is widely acknowledged. Preventing child physical abuse is an essential step to reduce childhood suffering and improve adult mental health (Sugaya et al., 2012, p.390).

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a prevalent phenomenon in society, with approximately one in three girls and one in ten boys under 18 years of age experiencing it (Loeb et al., 2002). For the purposes of this paper, CSA will be defined as any sexual behavior, forced or coerced, performed on someone who is aged 18 years or younger, any sexual contact with a child 12 years and younger by someone at least five years older, and any sexual contact with an adolescent between the ages of 13 -18 years and an adult ten years older or more (Hiebert-Murphy, 1998). Recently, some research has found that mothers who reported instances of abuse in their childhood also had children who had been sexually abused, suggesting that CSA is an intergenerational

Rationale for choosing paper: I chose this paper to discuss the results of researchers in their findings on various forms of child maltreatment (physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect) and their psychological effects across sexes and races.  Such findings set a different view of how we see emotional abuse set aside from the physical and sexual. Emotional abuse is found to be widespread and cause many damages to mental health, yet our society views the other types of abuse to be more harmful—thus the other forms receive punishment. This research could further affect how healthcare professionals and the public view child abuse and maltreatment.

Most sexually abused children develop issues later in life that affect their everyday lives physically and psychologically. Abuse victims feel depression, anger, and anxiety. Additionally, victims also experience chronic pain around their pelvic area even as adults (Adult). However, abuse doesn’t just stay in one generation. Its effects are passed on as the abused become the abusers. In relationships, those affected by abuse tend to sexually, physically, and even verbally harass their partners. Due to a warped understanding of relationships because of their abuser, victims generally have a difficult time developing meaningful, lasting relationships. They are often more receiving to abuse, feeling that it’s their fault they endure the pain inflicted on them. According to The

In a study done by Shapiro, Kaplow, Amays-Jackson and Dodge (2012), approximately 6% of children suffer some form of sexual abuse each year. A range of psychological problems are associated with children who have been sexually abused. They are also at a substantially increased risk of psychopathology (Molnar, Buka, & Kessler, 2001) especially in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They also show signs of generalized anxiety, depression, dissociation, attention problems, aggressive behavior and conduct problems, and even suicidal behaviors and substance abuse. There is an extent to their well-being and everyday

Research further suggests that certain characteristics of the abusive experience father-daughter incest, physical force and level of sexual activity tend to be associated with a more negative long-term outcome in women (Coffey, 1996). Sexual abuse may stint from early childhood that has continued to surface in adulthood or a specific incident that occurred in adulthood. Either way the psychological aspect of abuse can be a vast amount of emotional and mental disorders. For example, the

This meta-analysis necessitates, certain limitations that should be fetched in our conscience when elucidating the data. The ground truth of the primary studies for the classification of abuse generally rests on self-reports of a retrospective nature, that relies on individual memory capabilities, and are related to false positives or false alarms. Victims’ self-reports of sexual abuse may bias the results towards concealing them (false negatives), in particular for males. Primary studies assume that injury to mental health is ramifying to abuse, without gauging other possible causes (cause-effect relationship). The effect of the variables under analysis in primary studies was not completely isolated as in many studies victims of sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and other categories appear under the same umbrella. And as some studies had no control group, the normative population was taken as the contrast group, or it was not equivalent to the experimental one with the subsequent potential for distortion in the calculated effect sizes. Alternatively, the results of the meta-analysis were subject to little variability, that is, Ns > 400 and a large k were highly generalizable (entirely for the female population, and for males with the exception of the diagnosis of a disorder and the general measure of anxiety for the male population), whereas 93 studies with no significant results would be required to annul the evidence supporting the claim that CSA and ASA leads to mental health injuries. Further research is required to determine which moderators inhibit the generalization of the effects in the general measure of anxiety in the male population and in the diagnosis of depression and