The physical abuse of children is a complex situation that you must thoroughly analyze from a social, cultural, and psychological standpoint. While how physical abuse is dealt with or viewed depends on the entity examining it, it’s typically universally agreed upon that physical abuse can be defined as a nonaccidental injury inflicted by a caregiver on a child. However, sometimes physical abuse can be perpetrated by a sibling, a peer, or the child may be a witness to physical violence. Physical abuse is something millions of children and adolescents face every day, with the Children’s Bureau (2011) citing that physical abuse ranks as the second most common type of child maltreatment. However, it’s critical to consider some physical abuse goes unreported, as well as the fact that some states define physical …show more content…
Some factors believed to influence physical abuse of children include relationship between parent and child, poverty, lack of proper support system, and social/cultural variables, such as different morals regarding corporal punishment or seeking medical treatment. Few parents are psychopathic, but rather many abusive parents often experienced abuse themselves. Thus their adulthood is characterized by low self-esteem, lack of responsibility for actions, and controlling and abusive behavior that is projected onto their children. Children who are younger, have disabilities, are premature, or have other health problems are often at a higher risk for physical abuse. While children of all ages face physical abuse, the Children’s Bureau found that children 7 and below make up nearly 58% of reported abuse cases. Physical abuse towards adolescents often results from their parents fear or anger towards the adolescents growing desire for dependence, freedom, and need for
Physical abuse is “the mistreatment of a child that causes physical injury, impairment, or endangerment.” (Layman 15) It accounts for about 25 percent of abuse cases. (Moses) Children who have been abused usually show certain signs. They tend to be apathetic and withdrawn, but at the same time, constantly scanning their environment for danger. (Oates 43) Physical abuse can leave all kinds of injuries.
Child abuse is epidemic in many countries as well as the United States. It is estimated that every thirteen seconds a child is abused in some manner: physically, sexually, emotionally or by neglect (Friedman). Each year, there are over 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Child abuse can be reduced with proper education of the parents and with greater public awareness.
Most parents and other caregivers do not intend to hurt their children, but abuse is defined by the effect on the child, not the motivation of the parents or caregiver.Tens of thousands of children each year are traumatized by physical, sexual, and emotional abusers or by caregivers who neglect them.Child abuse as common as it is shocking. Most of us can’t imagine what would make an adult use violence against a child, and the worse the behavior is, the more unimaginable it seems. But the incidence of parents and other caregivers consciously, even willfully, committing acts that harm the very children they’re supposed to be nurturing is a sad fact of human society that cuts
Child abuse in American today is amongst the most saddened topics of mankind. Many children are subjected to neglect and abuse on a daily basis. The sex and age of child makes no difference when it comes to child abuse.. Boys and girls are equally likely to suffer maltreatment. The problem is how often child abuse goes unreported. Millions of children across the world are abused in some way, whether it is verbal, emotional, physical or sexual. Child abuse has been happening all over the world to young children, however many children keep this a secret because of fear of what could happen. Child Abuse consists of any act of commission or omission that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and development. It can be
The safety and security of many children across the world are in danger due to physical abuse. Child abuse has been linked to an assortment of changes in the brain which result in psychological, behavioral, and academic problems. While it is unclear whether the population that had been maltreated as children is accurate, physical maltreatment in the first 5 years of life places a child at risk for a variety of psychological and behavioral problems during adolescence. The following three literature reviews attempts to prove and support the premise.
Did you know that 3.2 million children in the U.S. were subjects of abuse or neglect investigations in 2007? (Childhelp) Child abuse refers to “an act, or failure to act, on the part of a parent or caretaker that results in the death, serious physical or emotional harm”
It 's difficult to comprehend that an adult, often a parent or caregiver, would intentionally hurt an infant or child. Yet nearly a million children are abused in the United States. Unfortunately that excludes children who 's incidents of child abuse are unreported and undetected. Child abuse can be defined differently from state to state, but commonly presents in the form of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, neglect and abandonment. The focus of this review is physical abuse, which is defined as non-accidental physical injury, from bruising to fractures to the most serious cases of abuse ending in death (Sink, Hyman, Matheny, Georgopoulos & Kleinman, 2010).
Physical abuse of a child is when a parent or caregiver causes any non-accidental physical harm to a child. Physical abuse may include, but is not limited to: striking, kicking, burning, biting, hair pulling, choking, throwing, shoving, or whipping. Even if the caregiver did not mean to cause harm, if the child is injured, the action is considered abuse. Physical discipline from a parent that does not injure or impair a child is not considered abuse; however, non-violent alternatives are always available. There are signs that a parent or caregiver is causing physical harm to the child, and they include but are not limited to a history of violence/abuse, that keeps the child away from school, church, or clubs, delays or prevents medical care for the child, takes the child to different doctors or hospitals, displays aggression towards the child, is overly anxious about the child’s behavior, and last, cannot or will not explain the injuries of the child, or
Child maltreatment is not a new social problem for the United States however, child maltreatment remains to be a substantial social problem that continues to draw the attention of legislators at the federal and state level, the child welfare system, and society as a whole. Child maltreatment includes the unthinkable act of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child by a parent or caregiver which results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a minor child. In addition to abuse, child maltreatment includes neglect of a child by a parent or caregiver. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) guides the response and treatment to the increasingly recognized issue of child abuse and neglect experienced by children
Younger children do not have the ability to express or show their emotions which can cause behavioral problems. Even a child who witness domestic violence between their caregivers is more likely to suffer from emotional consequences from seeing violence. The long-term effects of exposure in young children can have negative effects in their later years. These outcomes have been documented as leasing to behavioral problems that include school dropout, violence, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, eating disorders, and even suicide attempts. In conclusion, when parents engage in any type of dynamic of domestic violence or aggression, their children, can be at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to emotional development. There are a variety of risk factors that can affect a child
There are many things in our society today that unfortunately go overlooked. One such thing that is overlooked is the number of children who are being abused. Unfortunately these children are going through life not knowing whether or not their parents will loose their temper and perhaps kill them. There are many types of child abuse, such as physical, sexual, and emotional. Physical abuse is physical injury as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting, burning, or otherwise harming a child. Such injury is considered abuse regardless of whether the caretaker intended to hurt the child. Sexual abuse includes activities by a parent or caretaker such as fondling a child's genitals,
However, all forms of child abuse carry emotional consequences because the child's psychological and emotional development inevitably suffers from all forms of abuse. An intervention model that would focus on emotional abuse could also focus on preventing other forms of abuse because violent behavior towards children often comes from the same underlying causes, and most risk factors for child maltreatment are associated with caregiver, family, and environmental factors (McDonald, 2007). With this in mind, a possible solution would have to include early detection, but the intervention would most likely focus on factors that cause all types of child abuse. Despite the widespread occurrences of all forms of abuse, emotional neglect or maltreatment are practically impossible to detect while they occur and impair the child's normal development and social integration. Emotional abuse includes includes verbal, mental, and psychological maltreatment of children, and it is frequently overlooked by the community and mental health professionals who do not define emotional abuse as a suitable factor for diagnostic purposes (as cited in Schneider, Baumrind, & Kimerling, 2007). In reality, emotional abuse is frequently used in many families, it occurs in several worldwide cultures, and it carries significant consequences that should not be overlooked.
Research indicates that 1 out of every 4 children will be the victim of sexual abuse before reaching age 18
Throughout the course of history, millions of children have been victims of physical abuse; it has been shown that the effects of this abuse can profoundly influence ones mental and physical health in the span of his or hers life.
There are different types of child abuse. However the core* of child abuse is all the same. It always leaves a huge effect on the child. Children need predictability*, structure, clear