Short on time?

Get essay writing help

Child Abuse Essays

28 samples in this category

Essay examples
Essay topics

There are many different types of child abuse. Physical abuse is the non-accidental harming of a child, for example, breaking the child’s bones or leaving bruises. Verbal abuse includes harming a child using words, for example, belittling the child and threatening bodily harm. Neglect occurs when the child’s caregiver fails ...

to provide the necessities of life to the child, either done on purpose or with little to no regard for the child’s well-being, safety and health. This can include physical neglect, such as not providing food, clothing, shelter, or other necessities for the child. Emotional neglect includes withholding love or comfort or affection. Medical neglect occurs when proper medical care is not given. Emotional trauma can stem from any type of child abuse. Child abuse often involves actions, there are also examples of inaction that cause harm, such as neglect. Households that suffer from alcoholism, substance abuse or anger issues are more likely to commit child abuse compared to households without. Child abuse is widespread and can happen to anyone regardless of the cultural group, income, etc. A combination of several factors contributes to the risk of child abuse. Children are not responsible for the harm done to them, but certain facts have been found to increase their risk of mistreatment. These factors include parents suffering from substance abuse, lack of understanding of the child’s needs, parent’s history of domestic abuse, stressed out parents, and if the child’s parents were abused as a child too. In 2014, it was estimated that 1,580 children died as a result of abuse and neglect. That is between four and five children a day. That’s roughly ¼ of a child’s elementary school class. More than 70% of the children who died as a result of child abuse or neglect were two years of age or younger. More than 80% were not yet old enough for kindergarten. Around 80% of child maltreatment fatalities involve at least one parent as the perpetrator. Children who experience child abuse at a young age, have difficulty developing emotionally, mentally, and socially.

First, children who have suffered child abuse do not develop the right way emotionally. For example, it can impact their future relationships whether they are romantic or platonic. Sexual abuse can cause problems in romantic relationships later in life because the trauma of being sexually abused can be too much to bear, and the person will never be able to have a normal sex life. If your first sexual experience was one that was without consent, and you were manipulated, “the negative feelings surrounding it will follow you into future sexual experiences,” Dr Engel, a psychotherapist who’s written many books on sexual abuse, says. This does not only impact their relationships but their whole love life, and it could prevent them from ever settling down, getting married, or just having healthy long-term relationships. Sexual abuse can also cause the victim to become a sex addict or become addicted to pornography in their adult life. Also, in romantic relationships, the person who suffered child abuse may get abused again by their significant other and not realize it. This could happen because they are used to not getting treated very nicely by the people they thought loved them as children, and they did not develop well enough emotionally to tell the difference. In platonic relationships, the person who suffered child abuse will react the same as in a romantic relationship. For example, if the person suffered emotional abuse and one of their friends does something that their abuser did to them, it would greatly impact them. For instance, if they get yelled at, it may affect them more than they think, and bring back memories of their abuser yelling at them. To conclude, a person that suffered from child abuse might not have developed correctly emotionally, and that might hinder them from certain things.

Second, a child who has been abused does not develop correctly mentally. For example, a child who has been abused might be diagnosed with a mental illness later on in their adult life. You can see the aftermath of childhood trauma on brain scans. Children who are abused in any way or neglected, have different adult brains than others who were not abused. Researchers have also found specific changes in and around the hippocampus in the brains of young adults who were abused as children. These changes might leave victims more vulnerable to depression, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Dr. Martin Teicher led a team of Harvard University researchers. The team studied close to 200 individuals between the of ages 18-25. The purpose of the study was to focus specifically on child abuse and neglect. The results were very clear. About 25% of all participants had suffered major depression at some point in their lives and 7% had been diagnosed with PTSD. However, among the 16% of participants who had suffered three or more types of child abuse or neglect, the situation was worse. Most of them (53%) had suffered from depression and 40% had had full or partial PTSD. If they are teenagers, they are at a higher risk for suicide and self-harm. In one study, 80% of 21-year-olds who reported childhood abuse met the criteria for at least one psychological disorder. As teenagers or young adults, they are at a higher risk for reckless, self-destructive behavior. This behavior includes heavy drug use, smoking, drinking, early initiation of sexual activity, or even unwanted pregnancy/teen pregnancy.

Last, children who have been abused do not develop properly socially. For example, some children who were abused become criminals in their adult life. The prevalence of child abuse in serial killers is not new. Researchers who study serial killers have noticed that a lot of them have suffered childhood abuse and trauma. This leads many to believe that this is the reason why they kill. John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgeway, and Ed Gein are three serial killers who were abused by a parent. Between 1979 and 1983, FBI profiler Robert Ressler launched the Criminal Personality Research Project where he interviewed 36 convicted murderers inside prisons across the United States. At the time, it was the first study focusing on criminals who had committed several murders, their psychological and behavioral characteristics, their background and their motives. Ressler wrote in his book ‘Whoever Fights Monsters’ in 1992, “All the murderers – every single one – were subjected to serious emotional abuse during their childhoods.” He reports that 40% of the serial killers interviewed reported being physically beaten and abused in their childhoods, with 70% reporting they had “witnessed or been part of sexually stressful events” as children. Ressler also says in his book, “Let me state unequivocally that there is no such thing as the person who at age thirty-five suddenly changes from being perfectly normal and erupts into totally evil, disruptive, murderous behavior. The behaviors that are precursors to murder have been present and developing in that person’s life for a long, long time – since childhood.” Another example of abused children not developing correctly socially is them feeling like they don’t fit in, isolating themself, etc.

In conclusion, children who experience any form of child abuse will not develop correctly emotionally, socially, and mentally. First, they will not develop properly emotionally and it will hinder both their romantic and platonic relationships. For example, a victim of child abuse might have difficulty having a healthy sex life. Second, a child who has been abused might not develop correctly mentally. For example, a lot of people who have been abused as children often get diagnosed with mental illness in their adult life. They can suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Depression, anxiety, etc. Last, victims of child abuse will not develop correctly socially. For example, they might feel like they are not valued members of society, or that they do not fit in. Also, they might, later on, become criminals. To conclude, child abuse has a very big impact on people who experience it and it prevents them from developing correctly later in life.

Show More

Definitions Of Child Abuse And Neglect

The menace of child abuse in society is no news. There are several child training practices that adversely affect the well-being of a child. These experiences form the behavior patterns of these children and they grow up to become dysfunctional adults in society. There are many perceptions of child abuse, diverse views, opinions, and definitions. The World health organization defines child abuse as all forms of physical or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, or commercial or other...
6 Pages 2516 Words

Child Abuse And Pornography: Effects And Laws

“The abuser’s desire to abuse is not created by the child, it is there before the child appears”. This great phrase was spoken by Carolyn Ainscough author of ‘Help for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. Generally, the term ‘abuse’ is surrounded by intentional acts which result in physical, mental or emotional harm to the children and it is awful that children are abused mostly by their parents or the person who is legally responsible for his or her care and...
3 Pages 1335 Words

Physical And Emotional Domestic Child Abuse: Problem And Solutions

INTRODUCTION Domestic and child abuse may be a pattern of assaultive and intimidating behaviors, with physical, sexual, and psychological spells, also as economic compulsion, that adults or teenagers use against their near cohorts or child abuse as a nonaccidental damage or pattern of injuries to a toddler. abuse is damage to a child that there’s no ‘rational’ explanation. Domestic and child abuse may be an extensive problem with long-term penalties to the prey and everyone relations also on the abuser....
3 Pages 1519 Words

Abused Children And Depression

Abuse of children, unfortunately, has become a common thing that happens in society. Many children are abused. The lucky few are removed from their abusers and given therapeutic help, if available, while others’ abuse continues to go unreported; emotional abuse seems to go unreported because people tend to brush it off. People who are emotionally abused at a young age are more susceptible to depression because their emotional neglect leads to feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt that could trigger...
3 Pages 1437 Words

Child Abuse: Types, Reasons And Effects

Introduction Children are the backbone and treasure of country. They are the power house of Nation. Today’s children are the men and women of tomorrow who will be the designers and moulders of a Nation. The children have limitless supply of vitality, determination, potential, passion and enthusiasm and have ability to build the destiny of nation. Societal monstrous like beggary, child marriage, child labour, drug addiction, child abuse, etc. cripple the appropriate maturing of nippers. Child abuse Child abuse is...
1 Page 498 Words

Child Abuse: The School’s Role

Child abuse includes acts of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. It is estimated that about half of all children who are abused are of school age. The consequences of abuse can be profound for its victims, including physical and/or emotional injury, difficulty in building healthy relationships, and increased likelihood of engaging in child abuse as an adult. Teachers and other school staff bear a special responsibility in helping to identify child abuse. Because they spend much time with students, they...
1 Page 381 Words

Child Abuse Is A Shadow The Length Of A Lifetime

Most people are unaware of much and how many are affected by child abuse. Child abuse is an extensive issue that takes a toll on our society. Abusing a child can affect our society by taking money from innocent taxpayers and/or affect their day-to-day lives. Child protective services can be brought into the lives of an abused child which can bring forth a strand of negative consequences such as an increase in medical cost for the child. Of course, we...
4 Pages 1707 Words

Child Abuse: Disordered Psychological Development And Behavior Problems

What does child abuse mean to you? The Department of Health suggests that ‘somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm or failing to act to prevent harm’. Child abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect (Williams, 2009). Child abuse stems from many different things such as living in poverty, stressful situations, and even the parents or caregivers being abused. Oftentimes abusers themselves have been victims of abuse. Every case of child abuse is different, there is not...
3 Pages 1267 Words

The Factors That Contribute To Child Abuse

Unfortunately, the child gets treated very badly and gets mistreatment and it happens to be very common. There are many different reasons for child abuse happening now. There are many problems related to child abuse that needs to be talked about and looked at because it is spreading all around the world. The negative effect of a child being mistreated will continue in the child’s life until someone help. According to childhelp.org “Physical abuse includes striking, kicking, burning, biting, hair...
2 Pages 949 Words

Consequences Of Child Abuse And Effective Prevention Strategies

Child abuse refers to the maltreatment of a child by the parent or caregiver. It could also include neglect and might be physical, psychological, or sexual. Here, the parent or caregiver might fail to act causing actual and perceived harm to the kid. Abuse can occur at home, schools, or neighborhoods. Understanding the causes and effects of child abuse will help with the formulation of effective prevention strategies. Child abuse remains a global concern as it affects all cultures. Not...
4 Pages 1999 Words

Child Abuse And Neglect: Violence Prevention

The abuse and neglect of children is something that, I have been aware of from an early age. While I may not have been able to discern or articulate it in legal terms; I was aware of what appeared to be right and or wrong at face value. Having benefited from growing up in a stable home with responsible and loving parents, I was fortunate enough to have an appropriate example of what a safe, stable, and loving environment was....
3 Pages 1394 Words

Forms, Causes And Effects Of Child Physical Abuse In India

Introduction Child abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to the child or puts the child at the risk of doing harm. Child abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional. Neglect or not making provision for the needs of the child is also a form of abuse. In India and in other countries of the world, there has not been any type of understanding of the magnitude or trends of the problem. The increasing...
5 Pages 2471 Words

Child Sexual Abuse: Caused by Nature or Nurture

The purpose of this literature review is to identify relevant findings for sex offenders and whether it is nature or nurture that causes them to molest children, from any published literature I find and also relevant websites. Searches were carried out on numerous books such as ‘theories of sexual offending’, ‘child molestation’ and ‘sex as a crime?’. As well as using books for research, searches were carried out on the internet on websites such as The Conversation and The Royal...
3 Pages 1242 Words

Child Sexual Abuse & Hispanic Families

Introduction Child sexual abuse is defined as forced or persuaded sexual activity with a minor. This includes non contact abuses, sexual molestation, and rape (American Psychological, 2012). It is estimated that approximately 135,000 children are sexually abused each year (Sedlack et al, 2010). As referenced, the most frequently associated disorder with child sexual abuse is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (McLean et al, 2014). Research has demonstrated that those who survived child sexual abuse are more vulnerable to becoming depressed and...
6 Pages 2938 Words

Emotional Child Abuse And Criminal Behaviour

Introduction Emotional child abuse has been extensively documented to have diverse negative impacts on a child’s neurological, social, and emotional behavior development (Slep, Heyman, & Snarr, 2011, p. 783-784). The primary focus of this literature review will be to both illustrate and highlight the diverse effects that emotional child abuse has had on Sam and its connection with his delinquent behavior. First of all, emotional child abuse is typically noted via verbal or symbolic parental or caregivers’ inappropriate acts, such...
5 Pages 2449 Words

Definition, Statistics And Factors Of Child Abuse And Neglect

Child abuse and neglect has become more and more common today than it was years ago. Not only is it more common, but the severity of it has grown greatly over the years. The abuse has become worse and worse over time. The sole purpose of this research my paper is to bring awareness to what abuse and neglect is and some possible solutions to fix the issue we are facing. There are many statistics that come into play when...
6 Pages 2700 Words

The Reasons And Preventions Of Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is a sexual activity between an adult and a minor. There are different forms of child sexual abuse like fondling, exposing themselves to the minor, showing pornographic images, etc. It does not necessarily include physical contact. A child cannot have any type of sexual activity with no one, not even relatives. Families who have been affected by child sexual abuse have been struggling with the outcome it has brought into their lives. Many children end up traumatized...
3 Pages 1462 Words

Case study of a Sexually Abused Child

This study is based on a 16 year old girl who was sexually abused by both of her parents with no one to turn to. The purpose of this study is to inform readers on different types of physical and mental distress children and young teens suffer from when they are sexually abused. Many adolescents suffer from sexual abuse and is usually assaulted by a family member. Therefore, it does not get reported. Children are less likely to speak up...
3 Pages 1226 Words

The Issue Of Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is extremely problematic in the world today. Although, child sexual abuse hardly ever ends up in death, the costs to the abused can be significant and continue through maturity (Johnson, 2004). While doctors and additional people are accountable for the well-being of kids and are ethically; in most nations, lawfully accountable for documenting their speculation of sexual abuse with children, all doctors and behavior counselors need to identify the adult penalties of sexual abuse in children (Johnson,...
4 Pages 1700 Words

Negative Effects of Adverse Childhood Experience

Chapman et al (2004) describes adverse childhood experience (ACE) as a traumatic experience in a person’s life occurring before the age of 18 which the person remembers as an adult. Some examples of ACEs are physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, alcoholism in the family, drug abuse in the family, depression or any other mental illness in the family, suicide in the family, incarceration of a family member, abuse of mother by her partner, abuse of father by his partner,...
4 Pages 1939 Words

Online Child Sexual Abuse: Current Risk Assessments and Treatments for Online Offenders

Internet sex offenders are described as those who commit sexual offences online. Child sex abuse is a growing concern. Two main forms of cyber-enabled sexual abuse against a child are grooming and proliferation of indecent images of children (IIOC). Online grooming is the use of digital technologies to facilitate either online or offline sexual contact with minors. IIOC Incorporates the use of digital technologies to produce, distribute or possess offensive or indecent images of children. However research suggests that a...
4 Pages 1885 Words

Essay on Impact of Child Abuse on Toddler Development

There are so many written portions on Child Abuse and its effect on toddler Development in world literature for the last 50 years. From this written literature erected almost 10 years of posted literature. The reviewer is attempting to overlook some chosen literature as stated above in defining and assessing in the precis stage below What is Child Abuse? Child abuse is any structure of cruelty to a child. It is any conduct that motives damage to a child. It...
4 Pages 1925 Words

Spanking and Its Harmful Effects

Spanking is a widely practiced ritual in many countries; it is another way of ‘disciplining’ youngsters to behave appropriately. Because it is kept a secret which most people don’t talk about, and children are expected to sit and watch their parents do anything ‘behind closed doors’. This method of discipline (spanking) can sometimes lead to more serious cases of abuse. Spanking causes youngsters to become more violent. Spanking has been linked to an increase in violent behavior, a higher risk...
5 Pages 2098 Words

Childhood Abuse as a Predictor for BPD Cross-culturally

Psychological research is conducted to help broaden our knowledge and understanding of psychological processes, human behaviors and to possibly help build effective treatments for disorders and diagnostic criteria that accurately diagnose patients. In many different countries and cultures, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has many different diagnostic criteria that define the disorder. Due to the lack of cross-cultural research around BPD cultural differences were not accounted for when considering how BPD symptoms may look in other places around the world. According...
3 Pages 1560 Words

Hows does Childhood Abuse Affect the Adult?

The impacts and effects that childhood sexual abuse has on survivors in adulthood may be vast and varied to each individual. This essay will, therefore, look at how male childhood sexual abuse effects the adult. Combining the psychological, sociological and physical effects to the roots, to include ethical and legal implications to practice with an understanding of different counselling approaches; drawing on my personal experiences in counselling practice. Volunteering for an organisation run for male survivors of sexual abuse and...
5 Pages 2192 Words

How Parents Can Interpret And Deal With The Signs Of Child Abuse Trauma

Trauma caused by child abuse can take many forms. The key is to identify it, interpret it and deal with it. This is often left up the caregivers of the abused child/children. The main question that we are going to focus on is: How can these caregivers interpret and deal with the signs of child abuse trauma? But first we must see what the definition of trauma is and what Child Abuse trauma looks like. According to the Meriam-Webster dictionary...
3 Pages 1337 Words

Mental Abuse with Today's Generation

Apart from the physical damages, our generation is badly being a victim to mental abuse. The article focuses on the damages and the gap between the adults and children of the era In today’s era, the subject of child abuse is being condemned worldwide. The issues of child labor, young street beggars, sexual attempts on children (both girls and boys), harassment, kidnapping are heavily addressed and measures are taken to control them. These issues were existing from the past centuries...
1 Page 528 Words

Catholic Church Leadership And Child Sexual Abuse

The Roman Catholic Church has failed to protect its church members from falling victim to sodomy to a larger extent. It is evident that the Church leadership has played a pivotal role in enabling the clergy and religious perpetrators to inflict such abuse on members of its congregation by way of concealed re-assignment, coverup and by sheltering the accused from accountability in the secular community. Although legal action may have been taken in some cases this was done illicitly, subjugating...
3 Pages 1138 Words
price Check the Price of Your Paper
Topic
Number of pages
Email Invalid email

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.

Join 100k satisfied students
  • Get original paper written according to your instructions
  • Save time for what matters most
hire writer

Fair Use Policy

EduBirdie considers academic integrity to be the essential part of the learning process and does not support any violation of the academic standards. Should you have any questions regarding our Fair Use Policy or become aware of any violations, please do not hesitate to contact us via support@edubirdie.com.

Check it out!