If a child has social skills that are inhibited by abuse, they are likely to be out-casted by friends. Many children are quiet, reserved, and very frightened around adults. "Children are likely to blame themselves for their victimization, and distressing events may leave them fearing a reoccurance of these events." (Armsworth and Holaday, 1994). Children feel that whatever abuse has occurred, it is their fault. They are afraid to act out, for fear that the abuse will begin again. This living in constant fear can cause major problems in the development of social skills. Also, depending on the type of abuse, some children may be very embarrased as to what is going on in their lives. Many children become quiet and reserved, even when the situation calls for exuberance. This confusion and lack of skills can impair a child forever. The main issue that abused children have to deal with is the long-term effects of the abuse. Many psychological problems and disorders can occur in result of abuse. "The central features are alternating phases or traits intrusive of the phenomena related to the event." (Armsworth and Holaday, 1994). Some of these traits include flashbacks, nightmares, pangs of emotion, and recurrent recollections of the event. These traits severely alter the life of an adult who was abused as a child. It is important to look at the long-term effects in a more detailed manner. A main difficulty experienced by an adult that had been abused is that of chronic depression. Depression may enter the lives of many, but it is found to be much more prominent in the lives of the abused. It was found that a childhood "where there was physical contact was associated with a higher incidence of depression and a greater number of depressive episodes." (Allers et al., 1994). Studies have also shown that survivors of abuse tend to be suicidal or self-abusive. As it was stated before, many of the abused blame themselves for the ac...
