A Growing Concern: Child Maltreatment
It is said by Naughton that, “for every child in the child protection program there are another eight ‘hidden’ children being maltreated,” (Preventing a child maltreatment epidemic, 2014). Child maltreatment is an ever growing problem across the globe. There are several variations of maltreatment, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and negligence. Physical abuse is broadly defined as any act that causes or has a potential to cause physical harm. Emotional abuse is the harm of the emotional aptitude of a child. Sexual abuse is engaging in sexual conduct in the presence of a child or using a child to perform sexual acts. Negligence, the most common form of maltreatment, refers to the …show more content…
According to Ishida, “data from 53 countries have shown that over half of 133 million deaths in children are due to malnutrition,” (Child maltreatment in Puerto Rico: Findings from the 2010 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, 2013). Studies in Pakistan show that around 31.3% of children under 5 years of age are underweight, 40.9% are stunted, 16.8% are severely wasted, and 62% are anaemic. Nutritional neglect along with all other forms of child maltreatment can cause many short-term and long-term …show more content…
Most commonly children under the age of six are victims of maltreatment. Other determinants include sex, family size, the age of the mother, education level, household income, addiction, and substance abuse. Statistics, collected from a study carried out in Pakistan, show that out of 658 neglected children 75% were under five years of age, 51% were female, 84% had a large family size of five or more, 60% had young mothers, 67% of fathers were uneducated and 77% of mothers were uneducated, 77% lived in a household with low income, 23% lived with someone who suffered with addictions, 50% lived with someone who smoke tobacco, and 51% lived with someone who abuses non-nutritive substances. The psychological determinants found in mothers are similar to the psychological problems displayed in children affected by maltreatment. These factors include depression, anxiety, helplessness, aggression, and insecurity. In the same Pakistan study 70% of mothers suffered from depression, 73% suffered from anxiety, 70% suffered from helplessness, 50% showed displaced aggression, and 36% displayed insecurity. Another common determinant of child maltreatment is IPI, interpregnancy interval. An IPI of less than 18 months is frequently associated with an increased risk of maltreatment. This determinant, along with others, is also linked to ways in identifying child
It is said by Naughton that, “for every child in the child protection program there are another eight ‘hidden’ children being maltreated,” (Preventing a child maltreatment epidemic, 2014). Child maltreatment is an ever growing problem across the globe. There are several variations of maltreatment, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and negligence. Physical abuse is broadly defined as any act that causes or has a potential to cause physical harm. Emotional abuse is the harm of the emotional aptitude of a child. Sexual abuse is engaging in sexual conduct in the presence of a child or using a child to perform sexual acts. Negligence, the most common form of maltreatment, refers to the …show more content…
According to Ishida, “data from 53 countries have shown that over half of 133 million deaths in children are due to malnutrition,” (Child maltreatment in Puerto Rico: Findings from the 2010 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, 2013). Studies in Pakistan show that around 31.3% of children under 5 years of age are underweight, 40.9% are stunted, 16.8% are severely wasted, and 62% are anaemic. Nutritional neglect along with all other forms of child maltreatment can cause many short-term and long-term …show more content…
Most commonly children under the age of six are victims of maltreatment. Other determinants include sex, family size, the age of the mother, education level, household income, addiction, and substance abuse. Statistics, collected from a study carried out in Pakistan, show that out of 658 neglected children 75% were under five years of age, 51% were female, 84% had a large family size of five or more, 60% had young mothers, 67% of fathers were uneducated and 77% of mothers were uneducated, 77% lived in a household with low income, 23% lived with someone who suffered with addictions, 50% lived with someone who smoke tobacco, and 51% lived with someone who abuses non-nutritive substances. The psychological determinants found in mothers are similar to the psychological problems displayed in children affected by maltreatment. These factors include depression, anxiety, helplessness, aggression, and insecurity. In the same Pakistan study 70% of mothers suffered from depression, 73% suffered from anxiety, 70% suffered from helplessness, 50% showed displaced aggression, and 36% displayed insecurity. Another common determinant of child maltreatment is IPI, interpregnancy interval. An IPI of less than 18 months is frequently associated with an increased risk of maltreatment. This determinant, along with others, is also linked to ways in identifying child