Child abuse: causes, effects, and prevention

Child Abuse

According to the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2003, child abuse can be defined as "Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caregiver which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation" or "an act or failure to act which presents an immediate risk of serious harm" ("What Is Child Abuse and Neglect?" 2006, Internet). Generally speaking, child abuse may take on the form of immediate (i.e., here and now) physical and/or emotional abuse or may involve covert abuse, meaning that the abuser attempts to conceal his/her abuse from other persons and even the victim of the abuse. The results of child abuse take on many forms but often brings about permanent physical or mental injury, mental impairment and sometimes death under extreme circumstances.

Most U.S. states have their own laws and regulations pertaining to exactly what constitutes child abuse, but all of them agree on the following four types of maltreatment. First, neglect is the "failure to provide for a child's basic needs," such as food and shelter, supervision, medical assistance, educational assistance and "inattention to a child's emotional needs;" second, physical abuse is "physical injury as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, throwing, choking" and other physical acts "regardless of whether the caretaker intended to hurt the child;" third, sexual abuse includes activities "by a parent or caretaker such as fondling a child's genitals, penetration, incest, rape, sodomy....and exploitation through prostitution," and fourth, emotional abuse which is a "pattern of behavior that impairs a child's emotional development or sense of self-worth" and may includes such acts as harsh criticism, threats, rejection and the "withholding of love, support or guidance" ("What Is Child Abuse and Neglect?" 2006, Internet).

Child abuse occurs predominantly in children less than three years of age but can also occur later in life, such as during adolescence, and is the result of multiple and complex human factors involving both the parents and the child, compounded by various stressful environmental circumstances, such as poor socio-economic conditions (poverty, loss of employment, alcohol or dug abuse by the parents/caregivers), inadequate physical and emotional support within the family of the abused child and any major life changes or crisis, such as divorce or marital conflicts. Parents and/or caregivers at high risk for abuse are characterized as having unsatisfied needs, difficulty in forming adequate interpersonal relationships (friends, associates, fellow employees), unrealistic expectations from the child and a lack of nuturing experience which may involve neglect or abuse in the abuser's own childhood. In regards to the child being abused, several predisposing factors include the temperament, personality and activity levels of the child, sensitivity to parental domination and a need for special physical or emotional care resulting from an illness.