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¶ … Antecedents and Implications of Child Abuse in the United States
In spite of increased attention to the problem in the United States, child abuse continues to take place across the country. When children are abused and neglected, their lives can be adversely affected in severe ways that can last a lifetime. Therefore, identifying the antecedents and implications of child abuse in the United States represents a timely and valuable enterprise as discussed further below.
Despite corporal punishment being outlawed in a majority of the United States, child abuse remains a major problem across the country (Lambie, 2005). For instance, according to Lambie (2005), "Child abuse and neglect is a pervasive problem" (p. 249). Child abuse is generally defined as involving the infliction of ongoing physical harm or psychological damage to a minor (Lambie, 2005). Not surprisingly, when children are subjected to this type of treatment on a sustained basis, the implications can be profound as discussed below.
Importance of the Problem
The economic implications of child abuse are truly staggering and have been estimated to cost American taxpayers more than $104 billion each year (Hmurovich, 2009). These enormous costs, though, do not take into account the human toll that is exacted on the children who are the victims of child abuse in the United States today (Hmurovich, 2009). Although the...
At present, 19 states still allow parents and schools to use corporal punishment on children as shown in Figure 1 below (Adwar, 2014).
Figure 1. States that allow corporal punishment for children
Source: Adwar, 2014
Research Questions
The research questions that will guide the proposed is as follows:
1. What factors have been shown to contribute to the prevalence of child abuse in the United States today?
2. What interventions have been identified as being effective in reducing the prevalence of child abuse in the United States today?
Hypothesis
It is the hypothesis of the proposed study that states with the highest rates of corporal punishment will experience the highest rates of child abuse compared to those that do not.
References
Adwar, C. (2014, May 18). These are the 19 states that still let public schools hit kids. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/19-states-still-allow-corporal-punishment-2014-3#ixzz3fMyzACDO.
Hmurovich, J. (2009, June). Child abuse and neglect prevention: Is more than a funding stream. Policy & Practice, 67(3), 11-19.
Lambie, G.W. (2005, February). Child abuse and neglect: A practical guide for professional school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 8(3), 249-254.
Most abuse is committed by parents, but stepparents also commit abuse, and this is another social factor that can lead to child abuse. Many sociologists believe that stepparents have less of a bond with stepchildren than their own children, and they may be led to abuse their stepchildren while they do not abuse their own children (Wilson & Daly, 1987, p. 217-220). The Religious Theory The religious theory of social cause
Child Abuse What is child abuse Every explanation of child abuse and abandonment takes for granted a description of the child. The Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that a child is "any human who has not attained the age of 18 years except if the law pertaining to child majority is reached at an earlier age." (Child abuse & neglect) Child abuse and abandonment, at times also ascribed to
Child Abuse in England Initial Information The bruises on Clara's upper arms are indicative of something serious that the health visitor, if she, indeed, has been seeing her for two and a half years, should have noted or anticipated. The account given is so scanty that the general information can hardly be gleaned. The other family members should have been asked or given in the account, even if the health visitor does
232). References Ashley, O.S., Brady, T.M., & Marsden, M.E. (2003). Effectiveness of substance abuse treatment programming for women: A review. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 29(1), 19. Bradley, R.H., & Corwyn, R.F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 371. Dane, B. (2000). Child welfare workers: An innovative approach for interacting with secondary trauma. Journal of Social Work Education, 36(1), 27. Dodds, T.L. (2006). Defending America's children: How the
The second includes verbal and emotional assaults including persistent patterns of belittling, denigrating, scapegoating, and other nonphysical, but clearly hostile or rejecting behaviors, such as repeated threats of beatings, sexual assault, and abandonment. The third, residual, category includes other forms of emotional abuse such as attempted sexual or physical assaults; throwing something at a child but missing; withholding shelter, sleep, or other necessities as punishment, and economic exploitation (p.11). According
The victim is often put into situations where they are physically deprived of the things they need to make appropriate decisions. For instance they may be deprived of sleep or food so that they can be more easily manipulated. Mental abuse may also involve teasing or name calling. In many cases the perpetrator is very aware of the victim's weaknesses and uses them to humiliate or subjugate the victim. Sexual