Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment on Children’s Development
Lea A. Dixon
American Public University
Consequences of Maltreatment on Children’s Development
“27% percent, of the 702,000 victims of Childhood Maltreatment, are under the age of Three.” (Child Maltreatment, 2014)
The World Health Organization defines child maltreatment as “abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age.” ("Child Maltreatment," 2016)
-Examples of Child Maltreatment include: physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial or other exploitation.
The maltreatment of children affects many areas are including that child’s genes, nervous system, and brain; another area that is indirectly affected by a child’s maltreatment is our society.
In our society, an individual child’s maltreatment can cause that child, as an adult, employment problems and financial problems. While, long term economic issues in our society associated with child maltreatment include the cost of health-care, judicial system, and law enforcement. The direct costs of child maltreatment total $124 billion dollars and the indirect total is approximately $104 billion dollars as of 2011. (Long-Term Consequences Of Child Abuse And Neglect, 2013t)
Typical and Atypical Development of Children Under 36 Months
Brain Abnormalities Due to Maltreatment
Child Maltreatment is Permanent
-Out of 702,000 an
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.
Childhood maltreatment is a prevalent problem through out the world. As a child grows and matures the brain continues to develop according its experiences. During this time sensitive periods of development for different areas of the brain. A few areas that are of interest are the stress-influenced areas, which are at an increased risk for developmental problems when exposed to maltreatment. The extra stress from such exposures can influence abnormalities throughout the brain, which have been linked to structure changes with in the corpus callosum, anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal, orbitofrontal cortex, and hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum, as well as changes to stress related hormone systems. These structural changes are associated with an increased risk of psychopathology and other life long educational and physiological risk.
"Physical consequences such as damage to a child's growing brain, can have psychological implications, such as cognitive delay or emotional difficulties." () "The cognitive effects of abuse range from attentional problems and learning disorders to serve organic brain syndromes. Behaviorally, the consequences of abuse range from poor peer relations all the way to extraordinary violent behaviors. Thus, the consequences of abuse and neglect affect the victims themselves and the society in which they live. (Nap.edu) Parents think they don't do damages as long as there is no violence. False, children can suffer from low self esteem, anger issues, trust issues and many more. Is easy to destroy and change an infant's behavior and mind. According to nap.edu "the scientific study of child maltreatment and its consequences is in its infancy." But that is not the only thing that can cause issues, "maltreatment often occurs in the presence of multiple problems within a family or social environment, including poverty, violence, substance abuse and unemployment.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 3.3 million referrals for alleged maltreatment were made in 2013. Out of the 3.3 million referrals, 899,000 children were officially documented as being maltreated(Child Abuse & Neglect 2015). Child abuse is the mistreatment of a child. Child abuse is recognized in several forms; physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. Children who experience any form of abuse will tend to withdraw themselves from their peers and sometimes from other family members who are not aware of what is taking place. Child abuse occurs not just in the homes of these children, but can also occur in schools, churches and after school programs. Anywhere a child is present there is a chance that abuse can
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”).
Child Maltreatment continues to be a pressing issue throughout the United States. Over the years many children are victims of some type of maltreatment which in some cases can lead to fatalities. Maltreatment can have a negative impact on children and can leave numerous physical and psychological scars affecting the child’s adjustment not only at the time of abuse, but also into their young
There are many different types of child abuse. There is maltreatment and sexual abuse. Maltreatment is an area that encompasses many different things, such as physical abuse, child neglect, and emotional abuse. Physical abuse may begin with “shaken – baby syndrome” and
The goal of this paper is to provide relevant informations that can help individuals understand the how development may differ among those who have experienced childhood maltreatment.
Effects vary depending on the types of the maltreatment, characteristics of the child, and his or her environment. The consequences may be mild or severe; may come and go during their lifetime or last their lifetime; and affect them physically, psychologically, behaviorally, or in some combination of all three. Due to related costs to the public such as for health-care and educational systems, maltreatment impacts not just the child and family, but the public as well. Therefore, it is vital for the public to provide a scaffolding of preventative strategies and services before maltreatment occurs and to be prepared to offer remediation and treatment when
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
It is my opinion that childhood maltreatment is a serious social problem that effects the entire family unit. Throughout the early childhood years, the environmental behavior are considerable factor in the life of a developing child. The environment can adversely affect an individual in a positive or negative that creates irreparable damage.
Child maltreatment is physical or sexual or emotional abuse. the most common is negligence. This neglect would be in the form of a failure to provide basic needs which includes physical or emotional neglect; absence of intervention; emotional abuse; and mental mistreatment. Physical neglect is when a child doesn't receive proper food, education, clothing, food, sufficient shelter. Emotional is when a child doesn't receive attention or affection they need. Lack of intervention: lack of dental care
Children who have been abused are left with more than just physical scars. They have many psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems as well. Their social lives are affected dramatically, and they suffer lifelong effects. (Lambert) Children tend to
Child Abuse, intentional acts that result in physical or emotional harm to children. The term child abuse covers a wide range of behavior, from actual physical assault by parents or other adult caretakers to neglect of a child’s basic needs. Child abuse is also sometimes called child maltreatment.
The total mentioned above estimates the direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are associated with the immediate needs of abused or neglected children. Examples are, hospitalization, chronic health problems, child welfare system, law enforcement, and the judicial system. Indirect costs are those costs associated with the long-term and/or secondary effects of child abuse and neglect (Fromm). Examples are, special education, mental health and health care, juvenile delinquency, lost productivity to society, and adult criminality. Those children who are abused as a child tend to become more susceptible to a wide range of medical, emotional, psychological and behavioral disorders (Fromm).