Child Abuse and Neglect: Five other factors I. POVERTY One of the issues raised at times concerning the causes of abuse and neglect is poverty. This can be a controversial factor, since it is certainly not true that all parents who live in poverty (defined as income less than $15,000 per year) abuse or neglect their children. In fact, according to the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect, studies show that jost families who live in poverty do not mistreat their children. However, living in poverty increases certain stresses that can lead to abuse or neglect if the family is not able to cope with them. Some of these stresses include: unemployment, single parenthood, poor housing, frequent moves, living in high risk areas, crowded households, and lack of health care and insurance. For example, if the family lives in a home with lead paint, exposed wiring or insecure windows, accidents are more likely than for a middle class family who lives in better housing. The parents have to be more watchful of their children who are exposed to these dangers. jost child protection agencies take the family's financial situation into account when determining if deliberate neglect or abuse has occurred. If the family is unable to properly feed their children or provide medical care, it could be considered neglect if the parents were aware of food or medical assistance programs but did not take advantage of them. Two other factors that are more directly associated with causing child abuse and neglect are behaviors of the parents themselves: domestic abuse and substance abuse. II. DOMESTIC ABUSE There are immediate effects for a child who lives in a home where a parent is abusing the other. The child is exposed to several direct risks caused by domestic abuse: witnessing traumatic events, being abused themselves, loss of one or both parents, and neglect. The abused parent (usually the mother) can be traumatized emotionally or physically injured, and unable to properly care for the child. Domestic violence can affect children at all ages because of their own feelings of anxiety, fear and instability caused by seeing violence and disruption in the home. The children do not know who to trust. Even infants exposed to domestic violence may suffer effects of failure to develop attachment to their parents or caregivers and failure to thrive. Preschool children sometimes regress and suffer from eating and sleeping disturbances. Older school children may have poor peer relationships, poor school performance and become unstable emotionally. Teenagers have a higher risk for teen dating violence, either committing it or receiving it. They are following the example given by their parents. Other effects of living with domestic abuse are that the child may not develop cognitively (awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment) to their full capability, will have poor school performance, poor conflict resolution and problem-solving skills. They will be more likely to adopt violent behaviors and attitudes. They may have rigid stereotypes of males and females, and believe in male privilege. As adults they will have higher instances of depression and post-traumatic symptoms and more violence in their relationships. There can be long term negative effects on their entire lives. The child may have emotional and behavior problems that will influence their schooling, employment, choice of friends and relationships. Some of the behavior problems are: higher levels of aggression, anger, hostility, oppositional behavior, and disobedience. Emotional problems they may experience are: fear, anxiety, withdrawal, depression; and low self-esteem. If domestic violence in the home is combined with the child being physically abused, the levels of maladjustment and problems in later life are greatly increased. III. SUBSTANCE ABUSE Studies used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have shown that between one-third and two-thirds of child abuse or neglect cases involve substance abuse. The National Center on Child Abuse Prevention Research survey shows that 85 percent of States reported substance abuse was one of the two major problems in families in which abuse or neglect was suspected. We all have heard of or seen cases where the parent abusing or neglecting their child was using drugs or abusing alcohol. Parents under the influence of drugs or alcohol are not able to function effectively in caring for their children and, in fact, are more likely to physically or sexually abuse a child. There are several reasons "users" are not as effective as parents as they should be: - Impairments (both physical and mental) that occur while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
- Expenditure of often limited household resources on purchasing alcohol or other drugs.
- Time spent seeking out drugs.
- Time spent using alcohol or other drugs.
- The basic needs of children, including nutrition, supervision, and nurturing, often go unmet.
- Families in which one or both parents abuse substances, and particularly families with an addicted parent, often experience a number of other problems including mental illness, unemployment, high levels of stress, and impaired family functioning, all of which can put children at risk for abuse.
Children of parents who are substance abusers are more likely to develop substance abuse problems themselves. Living in a home with substance abuse will affect them physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study. They will be placed in foster care more often and remain there for longer periods of time, than other abused children. IV. MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES Parents who abuse and neglect their children may have mental health problems that prevent them from being an effective or caring caretaker. However, this issue also concerns the mental health effects that experiencing neglect and child abuse has on the child. According to the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, studies show that the immediate effects are isolation, fear and an inability to trust. These damaging emotions can lead to lifelong psychological, cognitive and social problems. Psychological effects: One long term study showed that 80% of young adults who had been abused had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder by age 21. They had many psychological problems, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, suicide attempts, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and attachment disorder. Cognitive effects: Children who spend time in foster care due to abuse or neglect tend to score lower than the general population on cognitive capacity, language development and academic achievement. Social effects: As we mentioned above, problems with attachment can occur even in infants when they experience abuse in the home or to themselves. They are unable to trust even their own parents to provide them with a safe home and environment. They live in fear and isolation that does not magically disappear when they grow up to be teenagers or adults. These children will jost likely have relationship difficulties with friends, spouses and other peers, and are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. All combined: It is really impossible to separate the physical, psychological and social consequences of neglect and abuse. The child may have physical damage to the brain which leads to learning and emotional difficulties. These psychological problems in turn lead the child later to have social difficulties. He/she is more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors: smoking, abuse of alcohol or drugs, overeating and promiscuity. These high-risk behaviors then can led to health problems such as sexually transmitted diseases, cancer and obesity. V. NEGLECT AND RESILIENCY Neglect of a child can be insidious and can also have life long consequences for a child. The effects of neglect have been proven to become more severe as a child gets older. The lack of adequate food can lead to malnutrition, deformities, continued growth problems, school failure, possible retardation, long term health problems and even death. As a child grows older and is exposed to school and peers, he or she realizes he is not being cared and provided for the way other children are, and experiences low self-esteem, anger, increased dependency, lack of academic achievement and a risk for delinquent behavior. Neglect can have immediate and fatal consequences also. It has been pointed out before that neglect actually causes more deaths than physical abuse. Studies show children who died from neglect when it was a single life-threatening incident, rather than chronic neglect. These fatalities were from drowning, scalding in bathtubs, fires, unsafe cribs, gun accidents, choking and drug/alcohol overdoses. I am going to add one that occurs frequently in the U.S. today: heat exhaustion from being locked in a hot car. Where does the resiliency come in? Research has proven that some neglected children have certain "protective" factors that can reduce the effects of neglect. Due to these factors, the child can continue to function in a healthy manner, in spite of the neglect he or she endures. In this way, through his or her own efforts, they are able to avoid some of the worse consequences of neglect and live successful lives. Protective factors include their own innate abilities such as: intelligence, creativity, initiative, humor and a spirit of independence. External protective factors can include the family's support system, other caregivers, access to good health care, a supportive teacher and/or school system. Further support can come from participation in athletic activities, Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, other social clubs, churches, and other social agencies. Next: Who are the abusers? ALWAYS REPORT CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT WHEN YOU SEE IT HAPPENING!
|
Part 5 : Effects and causes 
