Models of Abuse
This essay will describe the models of abuse and compare them; there has been some controversy over these and this will be lightly discussed.
Psychological Model of Abuse - Also known as emotional or mental abuse
Emotional abuse can be described as constantly mistreating a child and therefore affecting their emotional state and development. Emotional abuse can be inflicted upon a child in many different ways; these can include telling a child that they are “worthless or unloved”. It may also include not allowing the child opportunities to express themselves, or teasing them about the way in which they communicate or what they say. This type of abuse can result in psychological trauma, which can include
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Similarities
Psychological and feminist: both have the scapegoating concept, where one member of the family, in the feminist case, the father figure, will blame their family 's dysfunction on the child, which can result in the father sexually abusing the child or other physical abuse. They are both ways of making the parent feel as if they are superior to the child; they do this by abusing them either emotionally or sexually/physically. The sociological theory may also be linked to the psychological theory of scapegoating; parents and families in poverty may blame their child for their lack of finance and their unemployment. They may make the excuse that they cannot work because they have children to look after. Psychological and medical are similar because they have a similar cause – one cause is that one or more parents have a mental condition which makes them abuse their child. The psychological theory and the sociological also have the “cycle of abuse”; children who were abused as children do not know any other way of parenting and so abuse their own children, which can result in depression and trauma, which can continue the cycle. The sociological and medical models are similar as the reason for abusing the children is that they don’t know any other way; a parent with medical issues may not understand that it is wrong to abuse their children or that they may not be able to control their own problems and so lash out
Psychological or emotional abuse - is any action which has an effect on an individual's mental well-being, causes suffering and effects their quality of life and ability to function to their full potential.
Children in homes where there is abuse usually end up either, being abused themselves or being neglected. This is where they generally learn to become abusers themselves.
Emotional Abuse – pattern of behaviour that ruins a child’s emotional development or sense of self-worth. This may include constant criticism, threats, or rejection, as well as withholding love, support or guidance. Emotional abuse is often difficult to prove.
Emotional abuse – involves the persistent psychological mistreatment of a child and may include making the child feel inadequate, unloved or worthless, imposing inappropriate developmental expectations on a child, threatening, taunting or humiliating the child or exploiting or corrupting
Emotional abuse may include screaming, yelling, biting, name-calling, lack of love/affection, and so on. Children may be emotionally scarred when the y are labeled as stupid, ugly, crazy, or unwanted. Emotional abuse includes acts of omission by the child’s primary caregivers that could cause behavioral, emotional, or mental disorders. In some cases of emotional abuse the child’s caregiver may use excessive and bizarre forms of punishment like torture, or locking a child in a dark closet. These things emphasize the need for the intervention of The Child Protective Services.
Emotional abuse is any kind of abuse that is emotional rather than physical in nature.
Emotional child abuse is a pattern of behaviour that attacks a child's emotional development and their overall sense of well-being. This can include excessive or aggressive and unreasonable demands that can put expectations on a child beyond that of their capability. For example, three-year olds cannot be expected to be able to sit quietly for an extended period of time, due to the fact that they just simply do not have the physical control of their bodies yet. However still, you would find many parents placing this unrealistic expectation on a young child, only to end up getting frustrated due to the lack of the child's compliance.
Emotional / psychological abuse is when a person uses threats, bullying, trying to control a person’s mind, makes them feel powerless, as well as making them believe it is their own fault. This type of abuse results in mental and physical distress and includes
Emotional / psychological abuse is doing or saying things that demean and make someone feel less of themselves. This includes bulling, blaming, threatening and damaging other’s feelings of self-esteem.
Capaldi and Pears studies show that abuse is found in low socioeconomical environments and also with relatively young parents (2001, pg 1442). Bensley says one process of intergenerational abuse is the normative beliefs regarding appropriate parenting behaviors, which she describes as believing that certain abusive behavior are normal ( Bensley, Ruggles, Simmons, Harris, Williams, Putvin, Allen, 2003, pg 1323). Which supports the idea that an abusive parent justifies abuse as a legitimate punishment ( Bensley, Ruggles, Simmons, Harris, Williams, Putvin, Allen, 2003, pg 1331). Graur identifies 3 different cause of child abuse and neglect, the first cause is called the “economic theory” which says economic depression or socioemotional difficulties cause rejection behaviors on the part of the parent (1996, p.55-56). The second cause is called the ecological theory which says any disorder affecting society will also affect the family (1996, p. 56). The third and final cause of neglect found by Graur is called the personality theory which states that traits such as low self esteem, sadness, and previous experiences affect the way a parent acts towards a child (1996, p.56). In the article titled Child abuse there are 4 main cause of child abuse identified, the first has to do with life history and personality meaning their own experiences as a
Child abuse consists of different types of harmful acts directed toward children. In physical abuse, children are slapped, hit, kicked or pushed, or have objects thrown at them causing wounds, broken bones, or other injuries. Severe abuse may result in major injury, permanent physical or developmental damage, or even death. Emotional abuse involves humiliation, dishonoring or other acts carried out over time that terrorize or frighten the child. Sexual abuse consists of a wide
The article suggests that there is a cascade effect when dealing with child abuse and the parents and how it can be passed on to the rest of the children. This would also suggest that it would be an unending cycle in which now the next set of parents would also be at risk to abuse their children. The authors though find something different. Yes, it is true that the abuse carries on in a certain fashion, but a form of abuse that most likely does not carry through but physical child abuse does. In the author 's words, “In sum, mothers’ sexual abuse history was unrelated” (2015). When talking about the history of physical child abuse the mothers suffered the authors find “In sum, mothers’ physical abuse history was indirectly related to children’s internalizing problems.” (2015).
The aim of this assignment is to enable learners to understand the theoretical models of child abuse and consider the implications of each model. There are many theories about why people abuse children and who are more likely to abuse. These models aren’t rules or laws and they may have flaws. I will be comparing and writing about these flaws and also where the models have a point and backing these up with cases of child abuse which have been in the media. The models that I will be describing, comparing and evaluating are the Feminist Model, the Social learning theory,
Another common form of abuse exhibited against women is sexual abuse. Despite sexual abuse having the overarching inclusion of a sexual activity, Women Against Abuse candidly states, “Sexual abuse is not about sex. It is about power, and includes any sexual behavior performed without a partner’s consent” (“Types of Abuse”). Sexual assault is about exerting power over one’s partner, and in similar way,
The issue of child emotional abuse is often a difficult topic to discuss as well as treat. Emotional abuse can be very difficult to recognize since it is generally a relationship between a child and a caretaker and not a specific incident or series of events that can be pointed to as abuse. In fact, emotional and psychological maltreatment have no definition that is universally agreed upon, therefore, the two terms are often used interchangeably. Emotional abuse is the most common form of child abuse. While emotional abuse can be present absent any other type of abuse, such as physical or sexual abuse, there is almost certainly emotional abuse present with all other forms of abuse. Emotional abuse may not leave physical scars but it does appear to leave long lasting psychological scars. While there is evidence of psychological damage due to emotional abuse, it is not clear exactly how deep and lasting the damage may be. There is a great need to research the effects, treatment, and interventions for emotional abuse.