The Connection between Child Abuse and Crime Essay

Child abuse is a serious crime, whereas the abuser “acts out of commission.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , this is defined as the act of being “deliberate and intentional.” Unfortunately, it was no accident for Gabriel Fernandez, who was tortured to death by his biological mother and boyfriend. Court reports indicated the 8-year-old boy was doused with pepper spray, forced to eat his own vomit and cat feces, and locked inside a kitchen cabinet with a sock stuffed in his mouth to silence him. On May 24, 2013, paramedics arrived to a 911 call from Gabriel’s mother Pearl, as they first saw Gabriel unresponsive and laying down naked in the bedroom with a fractured skull, burns to his body, three broken ribs and BB pallets were found inside his lungs and groin. Remorsefully, Gabriel had passed away two days later. Despite the facts stated by Statistic Brain, yearly 681,000 children in the United States are abused and four children each day loses their lives, there are many parents who still believes harsh physical punishment is the only effective method way to get children to behave. Some, do not see anything wrong with this and others have a mindset of “showing who’s the boss” standing the ground as an authority figure. Soumya Manna from India says:

Many kids don't have a stable home to live in because their parents are either on drugs and don't be home or somebody comes take their house away from them and they are left to go in a shelter and they may be separated from their siblings. A combination of individual, relational, community, and societal factors contribute to the risk of child abuse and neglect. Although children are not responsible for the harm inflicted upon them, certain characteristics have been found to increase their risk of being maltreated. Risk factors are those characteristics associated with child abuse and neglect—they may or may not be direct causes childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity. As such, early experiences are an important public health issue. Much of the foundational research in this area has been referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). (Child Abuse and Neglect

Evidence shows that abuse on a child, whether physical, sexual, or psychological, can have negative side effects. Not only can abuse cause immediate harm to a child, it could also cause long-term damage to mental health and overall function as an adult. Many adults that have suffered abuse, maltreatment, or neglect in their childhood are at greater risk for perpetuating that same behavior towards their children/step children. Though not all victims will become abusers themselves, many abusers have experienced some sort of mistreatment as a child. Survivors of childhood abuse have a greater chance of developing substance abuse problems, especially drinking, and mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, PTSD, ect). Broadly, there are a number of negative outcomes associated with childhood abuse, with considerable overlap in the types of negative outcomes associated with different types of abuse (Anne N. Banduccia, 2014).

When the average human population deliberates about child abuse and neglect we naturally focus on the effects of their childhood development. Recent studies have shown that abused and neglected children are not only affected short term but long term as well. “A developing scientific consensus indicated that the origins of adult disease are often found among developmental and biological disruptions occurring during the early years of life”(Widom, Czaja, Bently, and Johnson, 2012 p. 1). Child abuse and neglect can range from bruises, burns, and welts, to even poor hygiene, and inappropriate dress. Abuse also causes developmental and psychological effects like anxiety, depression, and dissociation. All of the physical and psychological effects

It takes incredible strength to not be broken while being abused by someone who should love you, especially as a child with a young mind, young ideals, and an innocent heart. This experience is demeaning to many victims, which can cause the child to live with the tragedy for the rest of their lives. Victims of child maltreatment are generally at a greater risk for physical, emotional, work, and relationship problems in childhood and adulthood, affecting their wellbeing, happiness, and self-esteem in the long term. In some cases, like the 1580 children who died in 2014 as a result of abuse and neglect, stated by US state agencies, child abuse can have much more severe consequences on the victim. To spot this traumatizing and demeaning process that some children are forced through, there are certain signs that children develop from a childhood of abuse.

There are numerous long term effects that are a direct result of non-fatal child abuse and child neglect. A sad statistic and current reality is that “one child is reported abused or neglected every 34.9 seconds, according to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS).” (Orthmann & Hess, 2013) Child abuse covers everything from physical abuse, to child sexual abuse, as well as verbal abuse. Child neglect then covers the child who is neglected, and child endangerment. The vast majority of parents or caretakers who offend, offend by committing emotional or physical child abuse.

Child abuse has long lasting effects on a person’s mentality and emotional state. During early infancy and childhood years, a child’s brain develops at an incredible pace that it will never again experience. “Studies about early childhood development indicate that the brain develops in response to experiences with caregivers, family and the community, and that its development is directly linked to the quality and quantity of those experiences” (“Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect”). If young

Being abused or neglected leaves the child with long lasting effects. All forms of abuse have an impact on the child’s life, some are more significant than others. The abusers do not realize the impacts they are making on the child. The child will struggle with the aftermath of their abuse for the

Child Abuse is a huge social problem that affects children from all walks of life. It can have detrimental long-term negative consequences that forever change the lives of millions of people. It’s extremely important to understand the impact it has on the mental and social well-being of young adults and try to prevent the ongoing cycle of violence. As a society, we need to become more aware of how serious this problem is and try to intervene before the consequences affect future generations. Theories have been proposed to try and explain these different effects and how it contributes to negative behaviors throughout their development and many of these theories have provided valuable information to help answer some of these research

According to The office of the Attorney General with the cooperation of Texas CASA, Inc, “ Abused and neglected children are 53% more likely to be arrested as juveniles and 38% more likely to be arrested as adults,” ( Child Abuse 33 ). This suggest that abused child are likely to act aggressively toward others and have poor control over themselves emotionally as well. Especially for childs at young age, it is very easy for them to adapt such behavior and influences on education can also lead to unemployment when the child gets into adulthood. Some may say that “ Most abused and neglected children growing up to be peaceful and productive citizens, ” (National academies press 231). In other word, this insist that yes, there is victims who become abusive , most child who experienced abuse did not act aggressively or behaving badly to accuse crimes. Although I agree with the quote when she states that many people who were under victimization of child abuse did not respond to the society in irrational ways, I still insist that children could have revive from the pains that any abusers could bring to them, but it doesn’t mean that criminals could escape more punishments other than incarceration, crime accusers should receive heavier sentencing than jail, depending on severity of the crime. I think it is important to consider the effect on child in future and

Dr. Cathy S. Widom of the Department of Psychiatry at the New Jersey Medical School, showed that youth "who had been abused or neglected as children were more likely to be arrested as juveniles (27 percent versus 17 percent), adults (42 percent versus 33 percent) and for a violent crime (18 percent versus 14 percent)" than a comparable control group of young people with no comparable history of abuse or neglect. In the early study by Widom, the researcher followed children who had been abused and/or neglected approximately 25 years earlier through an examination of official criminal records, then compared them with a matched control group of children of the same age, sex, race, and approximate social class (Widom, 2017). The author conducted this research in a metropolitan county in the Midwest using cases of child abuse and neglect that came to the attention of the courts from 1989 through 1992. An assessment of criminal behavior found that early child abuse and neglect increased the risk of arrest as a juvenile by 55% and increased the risk of being arrested for a violent crime as a juvenile by 96%. These researchers also found that those with a history of being abused or neglected "were younger at first arrest

In the United States, one in seven children are abused at some point during their childhood (Bartol & Bartol, 2014). Child abuse is when a parent, legal guardian or caregiver fails to act or through their actions causes injuries, death, emotional harm, sexual harm or death to a child. Abuse can be divided into four categories: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Child abuse prevention is important for numerous reasons. Some of the reason includes, adverse childhood experience affect adulthood experiences, safety, future victimization and perpetration and decreases the outcome of cognitive, emotional and behavioral problems.

Study results found evidence that the apparent negative effects of maltreatment on children’s tendency to engage in crime were real. Being maltreated was found to almost double the probability of engaging in many types of crime and the effects were worst for children. Sexual abuse appeared to have the largest effects on crime. This paper focuses on the effect of child maltreatment and neglect. The study examined the effects of different types of abuse and the effect of child neglect.

While the bodily harm that abused children suffer is unimaginable, the emotional damage can often be much worse. Maltreatment has been proven to be a major cause of dissociative disorders. For example, many times abuse victims take on multiple personalities to hide from their pain. (Morris 451) Also, in a study done by the National Institute of Justice, it was concluded that childhood abuse increases the likelihood of arrest for juvenile crime by 53%. (Breckenridge B3) Many of these children also follow the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence, where they learn violent behavior as a child and grow up to be abusive parents as well. In fact, about 30% of abused kids follow the same violent pattern with their children. (Encarta 2) In the 1960s, it was thought that fewer than 1000 children were physically harmed per year. It actually wasn’t until the 1990s when the matter of domestic violence came into the spotlight, and now it is known to be over 1000 times that amount. (Melton vii) Fortunately there are now more havens from abuse where adolescence can be counseled and educated about the wrongs they suffered. One of these centers, the Laurelwood Child Center in Cleveland, Ohio focuses on the recovery of child abuse victims. Although many of the patients at the center do grow up to better themselves, a good amount do not respond as well. In an article in The Plain

The “cycle of violence” theory describes how when a person is a victim of child maltreatment, then they develop a risk factor for being a perpetrator of maltreatment later in life. Many adults suffer from post-traumatic stress symptoms and disorders, which cause them to commit crimes that were, once committed against them and because of this, abuse becomes the norm for them (Bandura 1973; 1977).