Effects Of Childhood Maltreatment

Childhood maltreatment, also known as, child abuse is a widespread problem in America today. Childhood maltreatment can be defined as, mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect, beating, and sexual molestation (Dictionary). Child maltreatment can lead to mentally and emotionally unstable children. It can cause children to become intimidated by people who mean them no harm or they, themselves, can become abusive in the future. There are many effects that abuse or maltreatment can have on a child. Not every child that is exposed to child maltreatment is effected in the same way. Children can be abused physically, psychologically, and sexually. Physical abuse occurs when a child is intentionally battered by someone or …show more content…
Lastly, sexual abuse is where a child is molested, or becomes the victim of unwanted sexual advances by someone else (Dictionary). All of these types of child maltreatment can have a large impact on a child in very harmful ways, and can even cause trauma leaving the child with lasting negative effects. Child abuse is obviously a problem, the impact of child maltreatment on a child can be harmful because it can cause mental and physical related problems for the child, and it can lead to long-lasting effects on the child. It is widely seen that having the experience of childhood maltreatment leads to an increase of abuse among the offspring. However, obviously there are still many cases of child abuse happening, more than it should, therefore this paper will look to analyze how child maltreatment, more specifically physical, psychological, and sexual abuse affects a child.
When a child is young, everything that a child needs or does revolves around the ones who take care of them. Parents or guardians provide the main source of safety and love when it comes to a child (Lim). The impact of child abuse or maltreatment on a child is limitless. The amount of cases reported of …show more content…
Children who experience physical abuse can be left with serious injuries, especially when left untreated (Schulte). The most common injuries are bruises and cuts, but physical abuse can also lead to more serious injuries, such as head injuries (Schulte). Physical abuse can cause more injuries than just cuts and bruises. Many children are bruised, burned, have facial injuries, fractures, bite marks, and sometimes children can encounter forced starvation or ingestion. Along with these injuries children can also be the victims of Central Nervous System (CNS) trauma which is the most serious injury that can come from physical abuse (Baz and Wang). When a child is physically abused, the child can be at risk for psychological and physical impairments. In most cases, child abusers were also abused as children. This demonstrates the negative effects of child abuse on children. The effects of physical abuse on a child can be seriously damaging. About 37% of children that have injuries from being abused will need special medical needs as they grow up (Baz and Wang). Studies that have been conducted in order to look at the long term outcomes for children who have been physically abused have shown that children are more likely to have a greater risk of developing psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and psychological sequelae. The studies have also shown that physically abused children have a greater