Physical Child Abuse

This research is to distinguish whether the children, who are exposed to violence or abuse, if left unaddressed or ignored, are at an increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems in the future. Children who are abused may not be able to express their feelings safely and as a result, may develop difficulties regulating their emotions. As adults, they may continue to struggle with their feelings, which can

Child abuse in America is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done. There are approximately one million children abused annually in the United States. (Table 339) Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds, and researchers believe that there’s three times that amount that goes unnoticed. (Child Abuse: Know the Signs and Stop the Violence Against Children.) Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves.

When a person is abusing a child, he/she does not think about the effects. When people are mistreating a child, they will be in the moment and not thinking of what they are doing. If an individual chronically abuses his/her child, he is not thinking about the effects the abuse has on his child. There are various long and short term effects of child abuse. Unfortunately, these short-term effects of child abuse are not the most frightening; most abused children do not have lasting physical effects. Other than some bruises and social withdrawal, short term effects are not clear. If asked about bruises, children will make up a lie to protect their abuser (Friedman). The effects of being abused as a child continue into adulthood and create the long term effects. The disturbing part is that abused children will most likely grow up to be troubled adolescents and adults who may even abuse their own children.

The most obvious effect of child abuse is physical injury to the child. According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, physical injuries can be minor, such as bruises, or severe, such as broken bones or even death, but the pain and suffering leaves much deeper emotional scars. Sometimes, abuse can lead to lasting or recurring health problems, such as shaken baby syndrome

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

There are significant signs of psychological trauma due to any kind of abuse. Children experience feelings of low self esteem and depression. Many exhibit behavioral problems including aggression towards other children. Other emotional problems include hostility, fear, humiliation and the inability to express feelings. The social impacts of physical abuse include inability to form relationships, poor social skills, poor cognitive language skills, distrust of others, over-compliance with authority figures, and tendency to solve interpersonal problems with aggression. (2008, p. 1). Verbal and physical abuse has a cumulative impact on children’s socialization. Abused children are caught in damaged relationships and are not socialized in positive, supportive way (Craig & Dunn, Ex.: 2010, p. 196). They learn defiance, manipulation and other problem behaviors that are used to escape any maltreatment. In turn they will learn to exploit, degrade and terrorize.

Childhood trauma is one of the most heartbreaking situations to ever fathom happening. Childhood trauma includes neglect, maltreatment, physical and emotional abuse, and many other forms of mistreatment amongst children. Childhood trauma occurs between the ages of 0 and 6 years of age. When referencing to childhood trauma, one must take thought into who commits the abuse, who is affected by the abuse, and what long term effects can the abuse have on the victims. One must also take into consideration the sex differences when referring to childhood trauma. Numerous of studies have been conducted and many findings have been made. Prior to conducting this research paper, I only considered childhood trauma to be what it was and never considered the long term effects. Because of my assumption, I never even considered the other categories of the trauma.

Childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) involves abuse and neglect and is typically associated with persistent and extreme denial of a child’s basic emotional needs (Barnett, Manly, & Cicchetti, 1993). CEM is highly prevalent, as demonstrated in both clinical and nonclinical samples, including college students (Egeland, 2009; Scher, Forde, McQuaid, & Stein, 2004; Spinazzola et al., 2014). For instance, CEM is reported by approximately one third of university counseling center clients (Braver, Bumberry, Green, & Rawson, 1992; Wright, Crawford, & Del Castillo, 2009). Research has principally focused on more “objective” forms of childhood maltreatment, such as sexual and physical abuse, leaving CEM—an intrinsic aspect of most if not all forms of childhood maltreatment—being seriously understudied (Egeland, 2009; Hart & Brassard, 1987; Spinazzola et al., 2014; Wright et al., 2009). Accumulating evidence from recent studies, however, points to the serious consequences of CEM (Bernstein, Measelle, Laurent, Musser, & Ablow, 2013; Egeland, 2009; Gibb, Chelminski, & Zimmerman, 2007; Spertus, Yehuda, Wong, Halligan, & Seremetis, 2003; Spinazzola et al., 2014; Yates, 2007). For instance, several studies have demonstrated a relationship between CEM and victimization (Crawford & Wright, 2007; Gobin & Freyd, 2009; Renner & Slack, 2006) as well as dating violence (Wekerle et al., 2009). Yet, few if any studies have addressed the potential significance of the more subtle, but no less

Maltreatment in children is described in four different forms those are physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect (Taylor et al., 2016). Roughly 700,000children are victims of abuse or neglect, (Child Abuse Statistics - American SPCC, 2016). Children who experience maltreatment often lack the ability to form secure attachments, because their abuse is often at the hand of immediate family members or close friends, (Child Abuse Statistics - American SPCC," 2016). When the abuser is the mother, the child often learns to become an abuser or exhibits aggressive behavior during their adolescents and adulthood, (Ellenbogen, Trocmé, & Wekerle, 2013). In addition to the possibility of becoming an abuser or an aggressor when children

Recognizing the detrimental affects of maltreatment that children are exposed to in the United States can be rather alarming. Consistent data regarding the recognition of child physical abuse (CPA) and existing screening tools, however, are still lacking. Furthermore, recognizing adverse childhood experiences as a complex event may be a key aspect of devising comprehensive interventions to prevent their occurrence and limit their impact. The need to train child health care professionals on child maltreatment and mental health is widely acknowledged. Preventing child physical abuse is an essential step to reduce childhood suffering and improve adult mental health (Sugaya et al., 2012, p.390).

Physical, sexual and emotional abuse can all devastate a person and create difficult life patterns that lead them to abusive situations as adults. The family of origin is usually the center of abuse which creates these circumstances. Edwards et al. (2003) suggested in their research article that, an emotionally abusive family environment interacts with abusive acts to amplify the effects associated with maltreatment. This idea is further supported by Lansford et al. (2002), whose findings suggested that physical maltreatment within the first 5 years of life predicts psychological and behavioral problems at least 12 years later, controlling for other risk factors associated with maltreatment. These correlations support the very important role of family and environment as it relates to prior

Every year, child abuse and neglect affect more than one million children nation-wide (Currie and Tekin 1). Along with this, child abuse is the source of severe injury to more than 500,000 children and the death of over 1,500 children (Currie and Tekin 1). These outrageously large numbers reveal the extent to which child abuse and neglect impact society; however, they do not acknowledge the effect abuse can have on a child’s life and the repercussions that may occur in both the individual’s childhood and adulthood. While the effects most certainly include physical pain and possibly future disabilities, child abuse and neglect can also affects the child’s psychological welfare. Psychological effects are often more difficult to recognize,

The United States Department of Health and Human Services found parents and other caretakers mistreat 900,000 children in the case of child abuse (as cited in Moylan et al., 2010). Children can be abused directly or indirectly. Indirect abuse can be exposure to violence enacted by the mother or father towards each other (Baldry, 2007). As for direct abuse, this can include physical, sexual or psychological abuse done personally to the child. Research conducted by Jaffe, Sudermann, & Reitzel, and McDonald & Jouriles, shows that children growing up in a family that displays violence are at increased risk behavior problems (as cited in Jouriles, Norwood, McDonald, Vincent, & Mahoney,

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

In the current period more than ever, to prevent any unsuitable behavior, it must be well justified and financially prepared. There is little information available about the global economic costs of violence against children. However, the bill for such actions against children proves to be high. The variety of short and long term consequences associated with violence against children suggests that there are significant economic costs to society. Thus, the U.S., the cost of abuse and neglect was about 103.8 billion USD in 2007, the estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2008 is $124 billion. including both direct costs associated with early intervention, medical treatment and associated psychological and indirect consequences related to long-term ill-treatment at individual and societal.