The Effects Of Child Abuse

Child abuse is one of the leading causes of problems and stress in children throughout America. Child abuse not only can take away a childhood, but can also if serious enough, it can even lead into adulthood. Some cases can be as modest as verbal abuse and some can be as severe as physical or sexual abuse. The effects of child abuse are far deeper than they may seem, and can cause not only physical but also emotional scarring. Conducting research on this field can be challenging due to severe mental damage within the subjects. Child abuse is a huge problem and can take physical, verbal, sexual or emotional form. Providing programs, classes, and therapy can help reduce this issue. There are many types of abuse, such as physical, verbal, …show more content…
For a child to be abused from a very young age and have it carry out throughout their life can result in more severe long term effects, aside from an older child where the effects will not be as impacting. The effects can be either immediate or can come into play later on in the child’s life. When a child is young, they are extremely sensitive to everything, “the signs and symptoms of abuse often vary according to the age and developmental stage of the child”(Child abuse symptoms, causes, treatments 1). The signs may be different in every child but overall, there is a pretty general category. Physical problems may include bleeding, STDs and urinary pain if sexual abuse, bruises, scratches, bites, and excessive itching (Child abuse solutions 3). The more severe and harder to treat symptoms would be psychological problems. This includes panic/anxiety attacks, generalized fear, quick irritability, body image problems, inability to concentrate, suicidal thoughts, academic problems, and hostility even towards parents and loved ones (Child abuse solutions 3). A sudden change in behavior or frequent behavior problems may indicate that there is an issue, the child would be displaying possible tumbsucking, withdrawl from play with other children, being disorganized, bedwetting, sleepwalking, and temper tantrums (Child abuse solutions …show more content…
Some solutions are therapy, home visits, parent education programs, and private organizations. In any type of child abuse situation, the first step is securing the safety of the child and addressing any immediate injuries the child may have. The child will have to go through a mental health evaluation which will typically consist of questions, being seen by the pediatrician, or a full mental health assessment. If a problem is found during these tests, the child may be treated through therapy (Child abuse symptoms, causes, treatments 2). Therapy can help the child learn how to cope with the abuse through talking, making it easier on them and hopefully minimizing the probability of long term effects. Home visits are better for parents who do not have a lot of money, this method has shown a decrease in welfare, child abuse, etc. Parent education programs are put together to help parents manage and redirect their stress. These programs educate and give information and advice on good parenting skills and techniques. Another great opportunity for at risk children and parents are private organizations, they interact and focus more on the well-being of the specific child. Some organizations help the parents by loaning money, some provide after school programs for the parents who work, or even hold more than one job, they may offer a housing facility for the at risk child, meals or even a caretaker.