The Truth about Child Abuse and Neglect

Herbert Fletcher

The Truth about Child Abuse and Neglect

    During childhood, the home is supposed to be a safe place. It should be a place where a child receives no harm and is able to grow and flourish. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many children. Parents can often be neglectful or even purposefully bring harm to their children. These actions, or lackthereof, can lead to serious developmental roadblocks for the victims. The consequences of the abuse not only affect the children who are abused, but also their families and future relationships. Effects are both physical and emotional, and manifest in different ways, such as having difficulty regulating emotions or their school life. These effects leave a lasting impact on the victims of these awful deeds and prevent innocent and naive children from being able to develop correctly.

    Anne Peterson, a professor at University of Michigan who conducted research on this topic, said “Child abuse and neglect is a serious public health problem which requires immediate, urgent attention,...The consequences can last into adulthood, with significant costs to the individual, to families, and to society.” Although in the past twenty years the rates of child abuse have diminished, the rates of child neglect has remained the same. Both leave long term effects on victims and affect our society as a whole. Neglect and abuse can rob society of emotionally and physically healthy functioning adults. While these crimes can come from anyone, 80% of abuse and neglect is from parents.

    The three main risk factors for child neglect and abuse in parents are: parental depression, parental substance abuse, and if the parent had also been abused as a child. Researchers have attempted to constitute other factors to the fluctuations in the rates of abuse, but nothing appeared to make sense. For example, mortgage foreclosures increased child abuse while increases in unemployment did not. Although the catalysts for abuse and neglect may not be completely clear, what is clear are the overwhelming effects of these actions. The amygdala, which controls emotions and especially fear and anxiety, is affected from abuse. It also changes the way that the brain thinks and develops and leads to academic and behavioral problems.

    The home is intended to be a place where a child feels safe and free from harm; however, many parents neglect and abuse their children which destroys the feeling of safety at home. There are many situations which factor into the occurrence of these heinous and unforgivable behaviors, yet none of them justify the actions. The victims of the abuse are left with scars for life, and are often stunted when it comes to their development. Complications such as poor scholarly tendencies and lack of self-control manifest. Research shows that many of these victims retain these problems in adulthood and have social difficulty. For these reasons, abuse and neglect are terrible actions which hurt the victim, and everyone else who is involved in the situation.