9.4: Child Abuse and Neglect
- Page ID
- 216723
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Child Abuse and Neglect
Child Abuse
Child abuse takes many forms. Children can be physically or sexually assaulted, and they may also suffer from emotional abuse and neglect of many different forms. Whatever form it takes, child abuse is a serious problem. It is especially difficult to know how much child abuse occurs. Infants obviously cannot talk, and toddlers and older children who are abused usually do not tell anyone about the abuse. They might not define it as abuse, they might be scared to tell a trusted adult, they might blame themselves for being abused, or they might not know with whom they could talk about their abuse. Whatever the reason, children usually remain silent, thus making it very difficult to know how much abuse takes place. Up-to-date statistics on the different types of child abuse in the United States can be found at the U.S. Children’s Bureau website.
Abuse can occur in multiple forms and across all family relationships. Breiding, Basile, Smith, Black, and Mahendra (2015) define the forms of abuse as:
- Physical abuse, the use of intentional physical force to cause harm. Scratching, pushing, shoving, throwing, grabbing, biting, choking, shaking, slapping, punching, and hitting are common forms of physical abuse;
- Sexual abuse, the act of forcing someone to participate in a sex act against the person’s will. Such abuse is often referred to as sexual assault or rape.
- Psychological abuse, aggressive behavior that is intended to control someone else. Such abuse can include threats of physical or sexual abuse, manipulation, bullying, and stalking.
Neglect
The most common form of child abuse is neglect. Child neglect is a deficit in meeting a child’s basic needs, such as failure to provide adequate nutrition, supervision, health care, clothing, or housing, as well as other physical, emotional, social, educational, and safety needs. All societies have established necessary behaviors a caregiver must provide in order for a child to develop well within the domains of physical, social, and emotional development. Causes of neglect may result from caregivers experiencing problems associated with mental disorders, unplanned pregnancy, substance abuse, unemployment, over-employment, domestic violence, and, in special cases, poverty.
Child neglect depends on how a child and society perceives the caregivers’ behaviors; it is not how parents or caregivers believe they are behaving toward their child. Caregiver’s failure to provide for a child, when options are available, is different from failure to provide when options are not available. Poverty and lack of resources are often contributing factors that may prevent caregivers from meeting children’s needs, when they otherwise would be able to meet those needs.
There are various types of child neglect which include:
- Physical neglect is the failure to provide a child with basic necessities of life such as adequate food, shelter, and clothing.
- Medical neglect is the failure of caregivers to meet a child’s basic health care needs. Examples include not brushing teeth on a daily basis, not bathing a child, and/or taking children to doctor visits when needed.
- Emotional neglect is the failure to provide emotional support such as emotional security and encouragement (love, nurturance, etc.).
- Educational and developmental neglect include the failure to provide children with experiences necessary for normative growth and development. These may include failing to ensure children receive adequate education or experiences that help foster normative, developmental standards.
- Depending on the laws and child protective policies in one’s area, leaving a young child unsupervised may be considered neglect, especially if doing so places the child in danger.
Attribution: "Parenting and Family Diversity" by Diana Lang is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0