Abuse And Child Development

For many years, the words of abuse and neglect were quietly swept under the carpet as being something we did not want to think about or recognize. Severe beatings and corporal punishment were acceptable parts of parenting and growing up. As those who abused grew into adulthood, it became very clear that what society was ignoring was a symptom of a greater problem that created damaged people. In some ways, the awareness of this terrible behavior caused society to swing dramatically in the other direction where they judged any type of discipline as abuse. In this century, we are coming to a more even understanding of things that parents or caregivers do that damages young minds in the millions.

Understanding the causes of child abuse is important to address the problem in order to prevent it. Millions of children suffer from different types of abuse every year. Most incidents are the result of an attempt to punish or control a child’s behavior. It is a method of punishment gone wrong. Some parentts do this when they feel that their child has disobeyed their rules, or done something wrong and in many cases these actions increase the possibility of physical harm.

Short term effects can easily be more easily detected, while long term effects are not immediately noticeable and are more difficult to detect. Children of abuse may be withdrawn, down cast and sad and don’t have the ability to interact with others because of the deep dark secret they are holding onto. In many cases, the pain builds up and stays bottled up until it bursts in some kind of emotional or behavioral reaction.

There are four forms of child abuse: emotional, physical and sexual abuse as well as neglect Neglect is known to be when the important needs of the children are not met by the parents or caregivers. This could be presented by a number of things whether thats poor hygiene or wearing dirty, old, or even inappropriate clothing. It could also be spotted by poor hygiene, frequent absenteeism or always being sick since no medical attention is provided.

The most apparent type of abuse is physical abuse. This type of abuse is often suspected when there is an injury that cannot be explained, or when the history provided is incongruous with the physical findings or the child’s developmental level. Suspicion should also be aroused when the caregiver claims the injury was self-inflicted, inflected by a sibling or when there is a delayin seeking medical services (Mandleco & Potts 2007). This could lead children to not doing well in school, criminal behavior, drug and alcohol problems, and bedwetting. Showing love and reassurance with a safe environment helps victims to easily deal with these problems.

Emotional abuse is the ongoing emotional maltreatment of a child. Compared to the other types of child abuse this is one of the hardest types to identify. Typically children that are emotionally abuse are typically facing more than one type of abuse at home. Emotional abuse can be anywhere from humiliating the child to verbally assaults the child. Caretakers tend to see a lag in physical and social development to those children that are emotionally abused. Older children tend to use foul language or act in a way you wouldn’t expect them to know for their age. They also struggle with controlling strong emotions, have extreme outbursts, seem isolated from their parents, and lack social skills having few friends if any at all.

Sexual abuse is the most unreported type of abuse. Rape, molestation, incest, and similar forms of non-consensual sexual contact all fall under the category of sexual abuse. It is believed that girls are more often abused sexually; however, both girls and boys are abused in this way. The effect on a child’s life includes not doing well at school, bedwetting, attempted suicide, refusing to eat and wanting to be alone more often. As children grow older that undergo sexual abuse tend to develop things such as shame and guilt and/ or depression, anxiety, even posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Drug and alcohol use by parents has a lasting effect on their ability to parent. We all know that when under the influence of a foreign substances, we don’t always make good decisions. Take those feelings and project them into a parent facing a whining or crying child. The immediate, and unthinking, reaction is to be aggressive and punitive. Under the influence, those actions can be more severe and damaging than if done with a clear head. This can also be true during rough times of little money and not enough food. The parent may lash out in anger in a way they wouldn’t have if they weren’t so stressed.

Parents who are drunk cannot think properly for the needs of their children. This causes them to have a unrealistic behavior, which can result in the abuse of their children without even feeling any type of remorse or the knowledge that they are doing so. Financial struggles even play a in som child abuse cases. Through the tough time of not being able to provide for their child they may also feel a lack of support

In another case, a mentally troubled parent may be perfectly aware of the pain they are inflecting on a child and, in some twisted way, are getting emotional gratification. Still others may view their children as a burden that has destroyed their life and taken away their dreams. For this reason, the child has to be punished for its existence. If a child is disobedient and hyper, this can be another reason for them to be abused or misused. The abuse is teaching them a lesson and an attempt to change behavior.

The really hard one to see is the parent who has high goals for their child with the hope that the child will correct the errors in life that the parent made. Much of that abuse is psychological and seems to be admirable since the parent wants the best for the child. The unfortunate thing is that the parent bullies and coerces them into achieving the parent’s expectations. This is long lasting and can create a resentful and angry adult.

Some parents are fully aware of their wrong doings, that they are mistreating their children but are unable to stop. Others hate their children or are disgusted by them. The child’s needs are unbearable for the parents to handle. Some abusive parent might even tend to believe their children are intentionally annoying them. Or the parent may have to high of expectations and unrealistic demands and when those are not met the parent could react with anger that could be lethal.

Persisting mental health problems are a common consequence of child abuse and neglect in adults. “Mental health problems associated with past histories of child abuse and neglect include personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorders, depression, anxiety disorders and psychosis” (Afifi, Boman, Fleisher, & Sareen, 2009). The long term damage from child abuse is incalculable and impossible to understand. The center of the problem is the adult child being unable to cope with what has happened to them. In some cases, they feel they are at fault and responsible for what happened trying to remove the blame from their parent who they believe should love them.