The Effects of Physical and Verbal Abuse on Children

A once bright and chatty child may become withdrawn and shy away from adult attention. The child maybe showing signs of aggressive behaviour and/or exhibiting signs of self harm. Abuse can affect a child from infancy through to adolescence and then into adulthood. It can set back a child's physical development, such as a tense mealtime can affect the child’s ability to eat.

On the other hand, there is some evidence, that abused children may be more prone to higher aggression and the use of avoidant coping strategies. Whereas emotionally neglected children may be more likely to develop a less aggressive but remain more fearful, and ambivalent in order to cope(Finzi et al., 2001)

Children in homes where there is abuse usually end up either, being abused themselves or being neglected. This is where they generally learn to become abusers themselves.

The child can seem to be on alert, as if waiting for something bad to happen. Shies away from touch, seems reluctant to go home, flinches at sudden movement. The injuries a child has, appear as a pattern such as marks from a hand or belt.

Children who have been abused are left with more than just physical scars. They have many psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems as well. Their social lives are affected dramatically, and they suffer lifelong effects. (Lambert) Children tend to

Violence in any form can have a lasting effect on a person. Children who witness violence are permanently scarred because of what they are seeing. Children who witness family or domestic violence are affected in ways similar to children who are physically abused. Children are often unable to establish nurturing bonds with either parent and are at a greater risk for abuse and neglect if he or she lives in a violent home. Statistics show that an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence against their mothers or female caretakers by family members in their home each year (Ackerman & Pickering, 1989). When a spouse, woman or male is abused, and there are

Abuse in the home whether it be mental, physical or sometimes sexual can affect every aspect of a child's life and development.

Emotional: Emotional child abuse is a form of behaviour that effects a child’s emotional development and sense of wellbeing. Signs of emotional abuse can vary by age and even gender. Children suffering form emotional mistreatment can become overly aggressive or extremely withdrawn, they may even show signs of both. The signs of emotional abuse can be hard to detect and even harder to link, as a direct cause, to verbal and psychological maltreatment. Some typical characteristics of children suffering emotional abuse may include, low self-confidence, becoming detached and finding it difficult to form relationships, the child maybe become aggressive towards others and may refrain form making eye contact when being spoken to or interacting with others. In older children alcohol or drug abuse can be an indicator of emotional abuse.

A person who is physically abused reacts in society differently then others. The way a person interact socially molds the way society accepts and works with them. Teisl and Cicchetti (2008) study showed that children who are maltreated are more aggressive and disruptive them those who are not maltreated. People develop the basis how is it appropriate to act in society at a young age. When trauma takes place, like physical abuse, it disrupts the process. Some research done on students in high school has shown that the abuse had lower effectiveness. This may mean that the students are able to develop effective coping skills or that the full effects have not yet emerged (Kamsner & McCabe, 2000). It was made known

"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.

Some other effects of being physically abused are problems controlling their emotions; they are less competent

Victimization comes in many different forms such as assault, child physical/sexual abuse, stalking, theft, rape, sexual harassment, and domestic/relationship violence. There are several negative outcomes that have been linked with childhood abuse and neglect such as neurobiological changes, emotional and psychiatric disorders, interpersonal issues and substance abuse problems (Min, Singer, Minnes, Kim, & Short, 2012). According to Reid and Sullivan (2009), children and adolescents are very vulnerable and are the most highly victimized individuals of the population and the kinds of victimization that they experience can come in many forms (Finkelhor et al., 2009). This victimization is known as poly-victimization (Finkelhor et al., 2009).

In other instances, the parent can confiscate the child’s belongings or force the children to strip down naked and be photographed as a form of punishment. Considering the types of abuse that these children experience, there are psychological effects that can affect their life as they get older. The effects of household abuse can extend outside the home and affect the child in their performance in society. “Children Exposed to Domestic Violence” states that children exposed to family violence can experience difficulties in paying attention and staying on task (Geffner 39). Abused children are prone to externalizing problems which causes children to act out. Externalizing problems include temper tantrums, impulsivity, hyperactivity, aggression, conflict, cruelty and bullying. Another issue that abused children develop are internalizing problems. Internalizing problems are issues such as headaches, sleep disturbances, anxiety, fear of separation, social withdraw and depression. This overall causes the children to be less engaged in tasks and in normal behaviors.

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).

Throughout the course of history, millions of children have been victims of physical abuse; it has been shown that the effects of this abuse can profoundly influence ones mental and physical health in the span of his or hers life.