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child abuse

child abuse Child abuse has been defined as, any intentional act that results in physical or emotional harm to a child. This could cover any behavior from assault, to neglect, to molestation. (Encarta 1) In 1995, a study was done by the National Center on Child Abuse & Neglect. They concluded that in the United States alone, approximately 3 million children are victims of some sort of maltreatment each year. This means that an unimaginable amount of our county’s adolescents are being seriously mistreated, and the numbers are rising steadily. While the specific definition of child abuse may differ from state to state, the effects unfortunately do not. Physical maltreatment, neglect and sexual abuse create immediate problems for children, as well as long term damage. Some common effects on sufferers of abuse include, a lowered sense of self worth, an inability to relate to others, short attention span and often they develop learning disorders. More detrimental cases can develop severe depression or anxiety, schizophrenia, violent behavior and an increased risk of suicide. (Encarta 3) In some cases, abused children learn how to cope with their experiences and grow to healthy adults, but most are not that lucky. Most victims of abuse are forced to deal with the results for their entire lives. Physical abuse is one of the most common forms of child maltreatment. It can begin as soon as conception and includes any deliberate act of violence that is meant to injure or kill a child. (Encarta 1) Over 500,000 children are physically harmed each year. In 1991, 25% of American adults admitted to being beat by a parent or a caretaker in their youth and unfortunately the numbers have increased since then. (Shepard 305) Some common physical injuries include bruises, scrapes, burns, brain damage, and even death. (Encarta 3) In fact, over 2000 kids under the age of 18 are killed by a caretaker each year in this country alone. 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 Dealer, Kay McKenzie, the head psychiatrist at Laurelwood said, “There are children so badly broken in their first years that they just can’t be fixed.” Unfortunately, that statement has often been proven correct. Above all other forms of child abuse, neglect is by far the most prevalent. In fact, out of the 3 million children abused in this country every year, 52% of them suffer some form of neglect, whether it is physical or emotional. (Encarta 1) Physical neglect is defined as the failure to provide adequate food, clothes, shelter or medical care. In addition, poor supervision and a consistent failure to protect the child fall under physical neglect. On the other hand, emotional neglect involves the failure to meet a child’s need for affection and comfort. For instance, behaving in a cold distant manner, encouraging the use of alcohol and drugs, and failing to meet the educational requirements of the child are all examples of neglect. (Encarta 2) The failure to provide a child with their basic needs can have a toxic effect on their personality development. In extreme cases the child is unable to recover. In 1977, a thirteen-year-old girl name Genie was discovered in a locked room of her father’s house. She had been isolated there since the age of two. Since her father had severely punished her whenever she made noise, she was unable to vocally communicate at all and even cried and threw tantrums in complete silence. Doctors described her as “almost subhuman”. Genie was unable to chew because she had never been given solid food and, since her father had always denied her of clothing, she paid no attention to any change in temperature. Genie was thirteen-years-old and was unable to talk, run, stand up straight, eat or do any of a number of her God given rights. Her behavior was beyond primitive. Over the next four years psychologists and doctors attempted to socialize Genie and possibly recover some of the damage done by the neglect. In the end, she did learn to speak in short, simple sentences, but she never learned to read or even mature past a toddler mentality. As a result of the abuse that this child received from her father, she was denied the right to develop as a person. (Shepard 81) While Genie’s case may be extreme in nature, even situations with minor neglect have negative repercussions to children. Similar to the other discussed forms of abuse, the neglect of a child could cause them to have serious emotional issues, not to mention the fact that it could follow the Intergenerational cycle of abuse. Although neglect is actually pretty common in our society, it should not be ignored. Sadly, in many cases, Genie’s for example, the damage done cannot be reversed. Finally, there is sexual abuse. This type is probably the least common, the least discussed, but often considered the most detrimental. There was little known on the subject prior to the late 1970s, so there is relatively a small amount of research in comparison to other forms of child abuse. (Gillham 3) Sexual maltreatment most often occurs outside of the family, but when it does occur in interfamilial situations it always seems to increase the severity of the trauma. (Gillham 45) The abuse can range from touching, or having any sort of sexual contact with private parts, to discussing sex in an erotic way, to even the exposure of an adolescent to pornography. Usually violence is not involved in this sort of abuse. Instead, Seduction and enticement are more often used by the adult to take control. Surprisingly, neither the amount of abuse suffered, or the duration coincide with the seriousness of the trauma. Rather, the effects worsen when: C. The abuse takes place in a family atmosphere D. The abused child is old enough to realize what is occurring (Gillham 45) Initial effects of sexual abuse include an unusual interest in sexual organs, abnormal sexual behavior, withdrawn attitude and sleep disturbances, among others. Some common long term effects include depression, low self esteem, a fear of sexual contact, confusion over sexuality, and sometimes even an in involvement in prostitution activities. Many experts have noted that sexual abuse has a “sleeper effect” on many childhood cases. Some people don’t feel the full effect until they view what has happened to them from an adult perspective. This is especially true for women. Females in general seem to be more effected by abuse in the long run. Studies show that they possess more signs of psychological disturbances and sexual maladjustment than men do. They also seem to have a consistent “damaged goods” mentality. (Gillham 47) Although sexual maltreatment is more so uncommon than other forms, it is not less of a threat. Sexual abuse is a major assault on the process of personality development as well as on the attainment of emotional maturity. The effects of sexual abuse on a child are dangerous to them throughout their lifetime. Admittedly, there is never a reason or excuse for any type of child abuse, but there are a few factors that raise the likelihood of the unimaginable act. A number of studies have concluded that any type of domestic violence is more apt to occur in poverty level homes. This could be attributed to a number of factors. First, stress raises the risk for abuse an unbelievable amount. Since poverty-stricken families often have to worry about issues like unemployment, poor housing, lack of medical care, not to mention money, their stress multiplies. Second, the majority of low-income families have a very limited educational background, which seems to increase instances of abuse, especially physical and neglect. Third, the use of alcohol and drugs often stimulates abuse. Generally, substance abuse is more common in inner city areas. Unfortunately, child characteristics sometimes increase the likelihood of abuse. In many cases, abusive parents are too ignorant or immature to cope with the downfalls of their son or daughter, whether it’s the child’s fault or not. This is true many times when dealing with disabled children, be it mental or physical. In some cases parents are too selfish too deal with the emotional or medical needs of their child, so they just don’t. They resent the disabled family member and treat them poorly. This is also true in some cases of chronically ill children as well. (Encarta 3) Finally, family situations play an important role in the issue of child maltreatment. Families that are content with their lives and with each other are far less likely to be abusive. Studies have shown that single parent homes are more likely because of the stress on the parent of being alone. On the other hand though, homes with unhappy marriages are even more susceptible to violence. (Encarta 3) More than anything though, it depends on the maturity, background and personality of the individual parent. On a personal note, I have myself watched over the past few years, a family that I am very involved with fall apart as a result of abuse. These children, two sons and two daughters, experienced more abuse than I ever thought possible in one family. Each of them were continuously beaten from the time they could walk till their father left in 1997. Both girls were each sexually abused at least once in their childhood. All four were undeniably neglected of emotional support, educational and medical needs, money, food and especially love. Now, as I’ve watched the four victims of their parents ignorance grow up, I see an inevitable tragedy. The oldest son, 19, did not make it through high school, He has not held a job for longer than two weeks in his whole life, he has a serious drug problem and now, has no place to live. The next son, 17, suffers from a more severe drug addiction and he also will not graduate from high school. But unlike his older brother, he does have somewhere to live. Six months ago, he was sentenced to spend three years in a juvenile detention home when his mother turned him in to the police for drug trafficking. Unfortunately, these authorities were not aware that until very recently, that same mother was one of his best customers. The third child, a 15 year-old-girl, had the most promising future of all, until recently. Currently she is 6 months pregnant, despite her mother’s constant pleas to abort the baby. She has dropped out of high school and is now working at Kentucky Fried Chicken so she can save up money. She’ll definitely need it when her mother kicks her and her baby out the day after the birth of the child. Finally, there is the baby girl of the family. She turned 13 last month, but she didn’t get to spend it with her family. She, like her brother, is living in a detention home. Sadly though, she’ll be there for the next eight years. She is a prime example of the cycle of abuse. She watched it happen to her mother, her siblings and herself from the day she was born, and now she imitates it. She lives what she knows and she is paying for that as we speak. The reason I was inspired to write about child abuse was because this past Christmas, I went with two of these children to their grandparent’s home. There we watched home movies from the early lives of these children. As they laughed at some of the few fond memories they captured on video, I almost cried. All I could think of was how differently these lives could have turned out if only they had been given the chances, the respect, and the love that they deserved. I guess no one will ever know for sure though. In conclusion, Child abuse, without a doubt, causes permanent damage to the life of the victim. Whether it’s physical, sexual or neglect, the after effects will haunt them, and very possibly their future family as well. Child psychiatrist, B.F. Steele stated, “…we do believe that how we bring up out children has a most profound effect upon how our society is behaving and how we deal with each other (Kakar 6) This is an excellent point. If parents do not care for their children and show them the ways of life, how could they expect them to know any better, and more importantly, how could they expect them to pass on the knowledge to their own children? Parents, more than anyone, hold the key to shaping the ideals and minds of their children… and until society gets that key fixed, the problems of child abuse will always remains. Bibliography:

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