Consequences Of Child Maltreatment

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Have you ever wondered what the main contributors are to child maltreatment? When a woman becomes pregnant she begins to feel an array of feelings, such as joy, excitement, anxiety, and fear. When the child is born these feelings can change or intensify. Many mothers begin to experience mood swings, anxiety, sadness, irritability, feeling overwhelmed, and reduced concentration. These feelings may result in maternal depression, which if left untreated may last for many months or longer (Mayo Clinic, n.d., para. 1-2). When you combine maternal depression with the stressors that come with financial burdens you create a tense environment. Low income, depressed mothers are more likely to demonstrate maltreatment that leads to long term consequences …show more content…
In 2013, nearly 679,000 children in the United States were victims of child maltreatment, according to Child Protective Services; however, not all cases are reported so the number is likely higher (Child Welfare Information Gateway [CWIG], 2015, p. 2). Child maltreatment falls into four categories, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Physical abuse is an assault that inflicts physical injury, such has hitting, punching, and kicking. Sexual abuse is forcing unwanted sexual behavior on to another person, such as fondling, intercourse, and other forms of exploitation. Emotional abuse is when a person expresses behavior that traumatizes another person. Neglect is the failure to meet a child’s basic needs properly. No matter what type of maltreatment a child experiences it will affect them for the rest of their life.
The Parents Role in Child Maltreatment
The impact of maltreatment on a child is detrimental, especially when the perpetrator is the parent. A parent is supposed to be the person that protects the child from being hurt, not the one hurting them. According to Child Welfare Information Gateway, 91.4 percent of victims were maltreated by one or both parents. Out of all perpetrators, 53.9 percent were women (CWIG, 2015, p. 3). Children who experience abuse from a parent miss out on a positive role model; instead, they learn abuse is acceptable and usually become
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Children who have experienced trauma need positive environments to regain a sense of safety, competency, and a enjoyable connections with others. Occupational therapist practitioners collaborate with other groups to structure environments, cognitive strategies and develop emotional and social skills in the home, school and community setting (Petrenchik, & Weiss, 2015, p. 2). They will assist with establishing functional performances in social participation, activities of daily living, education, leisure, and rest. Excelling in these performances will aid in preventing any long-term consequences from neglect and abuse.
Reflection
The approach for this research was effective as it gave more clarity to the scope of Occupational Therapy. If I am ever assigned a similar assignment I would consider coming up with a more thorough outline to help guide my paper. There were times I was unsure of the direction I wanted to go with the paper and felt a better outline would have helped. Besides that, coming up with a good direct research question and thesis helped in identifying resources to support the paper. This gave me a lot of structure for the paper, in turn making the other steps

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