PREVENTING AND TREATING THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF CHILD MALTREATMENT ON ADULT SURVIVORS
Child maltreatment is a term that covers a broad spectrum of child mistreatment including, child abuse (physical, sexual, and emotional) and child neglect (emotional and physical). Long term effects of child maltreat vary depending on the severity of the abuse or neglect and the length of time that the child is exposed to the abuse (i.e. if it is a onetime event or ongoing chronic exposure). As Greeson, et al. (2011), points out, child maltreatment experiences tend to be both chronic and multifaceted, creating multiple long term consequences for adult survivors.
There are multiple ways the effects of child maltreat may present in adult survivors including emotionally, physically, behaviorally, psychologically, and/or socially. These effects reach beyond that of the adult survivor into their families and society as a whole. In order for treatment to be effective it needs to be multi-focused on reducing risk factors of negative long-term effects as well as promote protective factors ensuring the ongoing welfare of the maltreated child and her/his family (Vermont 's Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention-FFY’11 Annual Grant Report, 2013). This researcher proposes that early and proper treatment of child maltreatment will enable survivors to go on and live happy, healthy, productive adult lives.
Defining Child Abuse and Child Neglect
As mentioned previously, child mistreatment is an
Child Abuse: When a parent or any caregiver causes injury, emotional harm, or death to a child.
In the United States child maltreatment is a common universal problem that can effect children of all ages (Fang, Brown, Florence, & Mercy, 2012). Additionally, it is responsible for the main cause of mortalities among children who are the age of five years and younger with majority of the injuries inflicted by an adult caregiver (Schnitzer & Ewigman, 2005). Prior to the twentieth century, there were a number of non-governmental organizations committed to providing support to child abuse victims. However, due to the lack of resources by the organizations and state regulations, numerous children did not receive support and remained defenseless, hence “modern prosecutions for child abuse were virtually nonexistent” (Nelson, 2012, p. 191). Meanwhile, this put a lot of pressure on the federal government to get involved and help ensure that children who were victims of abuse would receive the proper aid and treatment. As a result, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is recognized as the first nationally passed bill regarding maltreatment and neglect of children. The purpose of CAPTA is to provide knowledge of child abuse awareness and administer state funding to programs available on a federal level. The objective of this paper is to discuss the impact of maltreatment on children, how maltreatment is a public health
In 2013 an estimated 679,000 children were victims of maltreatment and approximately 3.1 million children received help from Childhood Protective Services in the United States alone. Abuse or neglect can be categorized as maltreatment, which takes many different forms from physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, and parental neglect. It is accepted that childhood maltreatment has lasting effects as the victims grow into adults. One example of these effects is behavioral
However, Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most well-known theories that has been used to help the victims of maltreatment. Between 2005 and 2006, over one million reports of child maltreatment; to include neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse was reported (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). In children the effects of maltreatment result in several psychological disorders to include depression, anxiety, PTSD and other behavioral issues whether it happened once or repeatedly.
Child maltreatment, also referred to as child maltreatment and neglect, includes all the various forms of abuse ranging from physical, emotional and sexual abuse to neglect and exploitation. This type of abuse can result in the potential or actual harm to a child's health, there development and dignity.
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
Within the United States, child maltreatment is becoming more and more commonly reported as there is over 3 million reports each year. Due to the constant increase of child maltreatment reports, society has become more aware of the issue, which has led to awareness campaigns. (Payne, 87). Even with societies’ knowledge of such abuse there are still serval child maltreatment cases that are not reported. The children that are victims of maltreatment pertains any sort of harm to the child whether it is by injury, neglect, physical, emotional, or even sexual abuse by someone who holds a major role in the child’s life, a parent or guardian figure (“What is Child Abuse”).
The conceptualisation of the long-term effects of child maltreatment reflects the surrounding circumstances which expose child abuse as a common event. Childhood abuse is a growing epidemic which evokes extreme emotional responses both privately and publicly and is viewed as a risk factor for an extensive variety of consequent problems. 2014 demonstrated that over 137,585 child abuse cases involving 99,210 Australian children were investigated (Australian Institute of Family Studies 2015). Abuse is categorised into neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Contrary to the implied supposition that emotional abuse is less injurious in comparison to sexual and physical abuse, emotional abuse ranked as the most commonly substantiated harm type in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australia Capital Territory (AIFS 2015). Childhood abuse occurs throughout a period where complex and ordered changes occur within a child’s physiological, psychological and sociological being. The following report will accentuate how the state of flux instigated by childhood abuse leaves children susceptible harmful consequences that will pervert or prevent a normal developmental procedure. Through psychological and physiological wellbeing, adult delinquency and the effects on different genders readers will be able to identify the harmful consequences childhood abuse places on victims and survivors.
Herb was a very loving little boy, who always tried to make everyone around him happy. He would climb up in your lap at the age of two or three, and whisper in your ear “I’m your boy, but don’t tell nobody”. Growing up, Herb was an accomplished athlete, and performed reasonably well academically. As Herb reached adulthood, he always took great strides to make the people around him feel happy and special. It was not unusual to find him helping his father on the farm or working on his sister’s car. The only payment he wanted was to see their smile and know he had helped. In adulthood, his little girl became the light of his life and no one suspected that there was a problem. Until the morning, his wife walked
It is estimated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human services that one million children are victims of child abuse and neglect in the U.S every year. This number may be an underrepresentation however, as many cases are unreported. Children who experience trauma in early childhood years or adolescence have impacts that follow them throughout adulthood. The common effects include relationship attachment issues, mental disorders, substance abuse, increased
The way this study was carried out was, through a survey called the NESARC that was administered to a group of 43,093 individuals in the first wave of interview questions, and 34,653 individuals in the second wave of the survey. Wave 2 assessed childhood maltreatment, and all the data collected by face-to-face interviews. Childhood maltreatment was measured through different questions based on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Conflict Tactics Scale. The questions asked the subjects about whether they have ever experienced emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or physical neglect.
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
The most frequent outcome for victims of childhood maltreatment is criminal behavior, particularly throughout adolescence and adulthood. The argument proposed is that individuals exposed to abusive or violent experiences — whether it be physical abuse, sexual abuse emotional abuse, or neglect — during childhood, directly or indirectly, are more likely to engage in criminal behavior than non-abused individuals. There is a clear and positive association between child maltreatment and adult criminality. This association predisposes the victims of childhood maltreatment to violent, criminal behavior later in life. With this, there is a positive correlation between the type of abuse suffered during childhood and the type of crimes that adult offenders commit. If an individual suffered from sexual abuse during childhood, they are more likely to commit sexual offenses during adulthood, such as rape or prostitution. If an individual suffered from physical abuse or neglect during childhood, they are more likely to commit violent offenses during adulthood, such as assault or manslaughter. The research and evidence presented shows the clear association between childhood maltreatment and engaging in criminal behavior during adulthood, arguing some of the factors that mediate this association.
This policy was put into place in 1977 because of children being vulnerable to adults, as a result of this adults feel like they have more power to be possessive. The current situation states that when an adult abuses or harms a child it can cause extreme consequences to the child throughout its life. It can cause mental health disorders, addictions, and related issues. In 2005 there was a house vote for crimes and punishments and injury to children. In the differing viewpoints some parents would say it’s not ok for parents to hit their child as a discipline, other parents would say that in order for the child to learn it is ok to hit, spank him or her as a
Child abuse is a term impacted by copious multidimensional and interactive factors that relate to its origins and effects upon a child's developing capacities and which may act as a catalyst to broader, longer-term implications for adulthood. Such maltreatment may be of a sexual, physical, emotional or neglectful nature, each form holding a proportion of shared and abuse-specific psychological considerations (Mash & Wolfe, 2005). Certainly in terms of the effects / impairments of abuse, developmental factors have been identified across all classifications of child abuse, leading to a comparably greater risk of emotional / mental health problems in adult life within the general population