The Effects Of Child Maltreatment On Children

Early screening, ideally prenatal screening, of mothers is essential to the prevention of maltreatment during the vulnerable period of infancy and early childhood, when children’s brains are developing at a rapid pace. Support- ive relationships, including with romantic partners or therapeutic professionals, are one important aspect in breaking the cycle of maltreatment (Egeland, Jacobvitz, & Sroufe, 1988; Milan, Lewis, Ethier, Kershaw, & Ickovics, 2004). Since intimate partner violence is associated with risk for child maltreatment (Taylor, Guterman, Lee, & Rathouz, 2009), taking a broader ecological approach that includes assessing household and partner risks is important. Utilizing obstetric or pediatric venues to identify risks for intergenerational continuity and transmission, and then offering resources or referrals to bolster or build supportive relationship capacities may contribute to breaking the cycle of maltreatment, and promoting the positive health of family members (Garner et al., 2012). Screening with attention to types of abuse and neglect that mothers may have experienced during childhood will inform a more nuanced understanding of child maltreatment prevention among moth- ers with histories of abuse and neglect. One review of preventive interventions for child abuse and neglect concluded that different interventions are more or less

What is child abuse? From the word “abuse” we can understand that it is some sort of a maltreatment of a child, causing harm and damage both to his physical and psychological well-being. At the Federal level, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) describes child abuse and neglect as: “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.” Child abuse is a very substantial and widely spread problem in U.S. affecting children of any age, gender, race, background or income, with more than 1.8 million investigations done every year and on average, killing more than 5 children every day. The main issue of child abuse is that the abuser is usually someone a child loves or depends on (a parent, sibling, coach, neighbor, etc.), who violates child’s trust putting personal interests first, therefore official numbers of how many children suffer maltreatment might be not accurate enough as remarkable amount of these cases go unreported. Each case of child abuse is unique, with a lot of individual factors involved, nevertheless, we can distinguish some of the common causes, such as poverty, lack of education, depression, mental or physical health

Children can be victims of different types of maltreatment such as neglect, medical abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse (Maschi, Bradley, & Ward, 2009). “On average, nationally, there is a report of child maltreatment every 5 seconds, and child maltreatment is substantiated every

"Physical consequences such as damage to a child's growing brain, can have psychological implications, such as cognitive delay or emotional difficulties." () "The cognitive effects of abuse range from attentional problems and learning disorders to serve organic brain syndromes. Behaviorally, the consequences of abuse range from poor peer relations all the way to extraordinary violent behaviors. Thus, the consequences of abuse and neglect affect the victims themselves and the society in which they live. (Nap.edu) Parents think they don't do damages as long as there is no violence. False, children can suffer from low self esteem, anger issues, trust issues and many more. Is easy to destroy and change an infant's behavior and mind. According to nap.edu "the scientific study of child maltreatment and its consequences is in its infancy." But that is not the only thing that can cause issues, "maltreatment often occurs in the presence of multiple problems within a family or social environment, including poverty, violence, substance abuse and unemployment.

In our society, an individual child’s maltreatment can cause that child, as an adult, employment problems and financial problems. While, long term economic issues in our society associated with child maltreatment include the cost of health-care, judicial system, and law enforcement. The direct costs of child maltreatment total $124 billion dollars and the indirect total is approximately $104 billion dollars as of 2011. (Long-Term Consequences Of Child Abuse And Neglect, 2013t)

Whether it be a broken bone, emotional distress, or never being able to have a healthy relationship, children are always affected. Abuse effects the way children think and act. Children learn their behaviors from their parents and often abuse is a never ending cycle for most families because it is perceived as normal. Most children think “That’s how I was raised and I turned out fine”. and they never really come to terms with their injuries (whether superficial or not) from abuse. Often times it takes someone going to a therapist to realized their parent really was toxic to their health. Child abuse is an epidemic that as a society we need to try our hardest to prevent and eliminate.

Effects vary depending on the types of the maltreatment, characteristics of the child, and his or her environment. The consequences may be mild or severe; may come and go during their lifetime or last their lifetime; and affect them physically, psychologically, behaviorally, or in some combination of all three. Due to related costs to the public such as for health-care and educational systems, maltreatment impacts not just the child and family, but the public as well. Therefore, it is vital for the public to provide a scaffolding of preventative strategies and services before maltreatment occurs and to be prepared to offer remediation and treatment when

Considering the large number of children who are victims of child abuse, it is important to investigate not only the immediate effects of abuse, but also the long-term effects on the child’s well-being. Exposure to childhood maltreatment is a non-specific risk factor associated with many short and long term negative outcomes ranging from externalizing and internalizing behaviors, dissociative symptoms and self-harm behaviors, and adaptability and coping skills (Jackson, Gabrielli, Fleming, Tunno, & Makanui, 2014). When a child grows up in a home environment characterized by hostile interpersonal relationships, physical maltreatment, or neglect he or she is at risk for long-term developmental concerns regarding physiological, social, emotional,

According to federal law child abuse is deemed as any type of current act or failure to act upon on the part of a parent or caretaker which can result in death, serious physical or emotional pain, sexually explicit abuse or exploitation or an action or failure of an action in which anything presents an imminent risk of serious harm. According to the journal of Family Violence every year 3.3 to 10 million children endure and witness abuse and violence in their homes. Research also shows that even 900,000 children are classified as maltreated by parents and other guardians in the U.S alone. (Moylan p.1-2) Child abuse has been seen to make a big impact on children’s mental processes way into adulthood. Studies show that children who witness

Child abuse and neglect can have a lifelong implication on a victim, including in their well-being. Even though the physical wounds on a child may heal, there are several long-term consequences of experiencing the trauma of abuse and/or neglect. Children who are maltreated are often at

A child that goes through any child abuse is at risk of developing brain damage each time they go through the trauma. This is because of their young minds are still trying to develop and grow, and they do not know how to comprehend and cope with what is being done to them. “Child abuse and neglect have been shown to cause important

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.

Throughout history, children have been long subjected to numerous forms of cruel abuses such as neglect, which includes not receiving the proper care and attention, and sexual or physical abuse which involves violence towards the child in a sexual or physical manner. Abuse triggers something inside the child that can turn them into a rebellious, often ill-mannered person. It is believed that those who exhibit the more violent criminal tendencies are more likely to have been victims of abuse at some point in their lives.

Of all the reported American child maltreatment in 2013, 79.5% of victims experienced neglect, more than four times the victims that were physically abused (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Neglect is one of the most common forms of child maltreatment and public awareness of this problem was raised in the 1960s by the work of C. Henry Page 1 of 1Kempe which described the battered-child syndrome. It was only then that child maltreatment was regarded as a serious social problem. Since then, a new field has grown, with professionals researching to understand the problem and effective interventions needed and yet, neglect is still often given less attention than child physical and sexual abuse. The signs of neglect are usually less visible than the physical signs of abuse but it is just as detrimental to the general early development of children as abuse. By examining the consequences of neglect in children on their cognitive development, the problem can be slowly addressed and resolved to a certain extent. Not only does it affect cognitive, language and emotional development in children, it can also result in long term consequences such as poor academic performance and attachment problems. However, research has shown that an enriching environment given to the children once they are out of an environment of neglect can promote resilience which to a certain extent can recover the effects of neglect on various aspects of development.

Every year, child abuse and neglect affect more than one million children nation-wide (Currie and Tekin 1). Along with this, child abuse is the source of severe injury to more than 500,000 children and the death of over 1,500 children (Currie and Tekin 1). These outrageously large numbers reveal the extent to which child abuse and neglect impact society; however, they do not acknowledge the effect abuse can have on a child’s life and the repercussions that may occur in both the individual’s childhood and adulthood. While the effects most certainly include physical pain and possibly future disabilities, child abuse and neglect can also affects the child’s psychological welfare. Psychological effects are often more difficult to recognize,