Child maltreatment
what is child neglect linked to?
(the most common form of maltreatment) poverty, substance abuse, and parental indifference
what are the two prominent themes that the general nature of maltreated children's peer relationships can be organized into?
1. maltreated children, particularly physically abused children and those two witness violence between parents, are more physically and verbally aggressive towards their peers (they are more likely to respond with anger and aggression to both friendly and distressive gestures; as a result they are less popular and have atypical social networks; they are rejected by peers) 2. maltreated children, especially neglected children, withdraw from and avoid peer interactions (they tend to remain isolated and passive during opportunities for freeplay with other children, and seldom display overtures of affection of initiate play with their mothers or peers)
what is the prevalence of physical abuse?
16%
what percentage of children and adolescents with histories of maltreatment that involves sexual abuse or a combination of sexual and physical abuse meet the criteria for PTSD?
20-50%
what is the prevalence of psychological maltreatment?
7%
what is the gender prevalence of sexual abuse?
80% of sexual abuse victims are female; in the majority of these cases the perpetrator is likely to be a male family member; where as for a boy its more likely to be a male non-family member
what is the prevalence of sexual abuse?
9%
who had the highest rates of victimization?
African American children, American Indian, or Alaska native children, and children of multiple races
who had the lowest rates of victimization?
Asian American children
what is the most common perpetrator pattern overall?
a female parent acting alone, who is typically younger than 30 years of age
child maltreatment
a generic term that refers to four primary acts: physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse
what can help the child develop positively after maltreatment?
a positive relationship will help inoculate a child against mistreatment; a well rounded emotional relationship with at least one person
what is the prevalence of sexual abuse in children and reported symptoms?
about 1/3 of sexually abused children report or exhibit no visible symptoms, and about 2/3 of those who do show symptoms recover significantly during the first 12 to 18 months following abuse
whta two major cultural traditions have influenced the position of the father as head of the house?
absolute authority over the family by the husband, and the right to family privacy
what is the prevalence of child neglect?
accounts for almost 2/3s (64%) of all documented cases
emotional abuse
acts or omissions that cause or have the potential to cause behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental disorders
what determinants of healthy parent-child relationships and family roles are needed?
adequate knowledge of child development and expectations, including knowledge of children's normal sexual development and experimentation; adequate skill in coping with stress related to caring for small children, and knowledge of ways to enhance child development through proper stimulation and attention; opportunities to develop normal parent-child attachment and early patterns of communication; adequate parental knowledge of home management, including basic financial planning, proper shelter, and meal planning; opportunities and willingness to share the duties of child care between both parents (when applicable); and provision of necessary social and health services
what is the ethnic prevalence of maltreatment?
almost half of substantiated victims of maltreatment are white (49%), 23% were African American, and 18% were Hispanic
what is a history of maltreatment associated with?
an earlier mean age of first criminal offense and a higher frequency of offenses, as well as a higher proportion of chronic offenders
what percentage of children are victims of maltreatment grow up to be perpetrators of violence?
approx. 30%
how are physically abused children described compared to their age mates?
as more disruptive and aggressive with disturbances that reach across a broad spectrum of emotional and cognitive functioning
why is emotional abuse hard to define?
because emotional abuse exists to some degree in all forms of maltreatment, which makes it difficult to define (this makes the specific consequences of this form of maltreatment poorly understood
how do boys tend to deal with distress?
boys show heightened levels of verbal and physical aggression
information-processing disturbances
cases maltreating parents to misperceive or mislable typical child behavior in ways that lead to inappropriate responses and increased aggression
insecure-disorganized attachment
characterized by a mixture of approach and avoidance, helplessness, apprehension, and a general disorientation
how has the brain of abused children changed through development (where is it different then those of non-abused children)?
children and adults with a history of childhood abuse show long-term alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrinal (HPA) axis and norepinephrine systems, which have a pronounced effect on one's responsiveness to stress
what happens to children as young as 3 months who hear their parents arguing?
children as young as 3 months have been found to have heightened neurological responses to their parents arguing
what type of environment do children need for healthy development?
children need a careing environment that balances their need for control and direction (or "demandingness") with their need for stimulation and sensitivity (or "responsiveness")
pedophilia
defined as sexual activity or sexually arousing fantasies involving a prepubescent child 9 (generally age 13 or younger), by someone who is at lease 16 years old and at least 5 years older than the child
relational disorders
disorders that occur on the context of relationships, such as child abuse and neglect; they signify the connection between children's behavior patterns and the availability of a suitable childrearing environment
lifetime prevalence
estimates of maltreatment that are derived by asking adults if they experienced particular forms of maltreatment as children
expectable environment
external conditions or surroundings that are considered to be fundamental and necessary for healthy development. The expectable environment for infants includes protective and nuturant adults and opportunities for socialization; for older children it includes a supportive family, contact with peers, and ample opportunities to explore and master the environment
neglect
failing to provide for a child's physical, educational, or emotional needs
what feeling can all form much of the core identity of the abused child?
feelings of inferiority, anger and hostility in response to feelings of powerlessness and betrayal
what two feelings do children and adults who have been victims of maltreatment normally report?
felling powerless and betrayed
how do girls tend to deal with distress?
girls tend to internalize the distress they experience, through the feeling of things like personal shame, and self-blame
in general who is responsible for mistreating the child?
in general, parents are responsible for mistreating their children 80-85% of cases (men more so in the case of physical abuse), with the exception of sexual abuse, where 50% of the cases are perpetrated by a non-parental figure
what do physical abuse and neglect occur most often in?
in the context of social and economic family deprivation
physical neglect
includes the refusal or delay in seeking health care, expulsion from the home or refusal to allow a runaway to return home, abandonment, and inadequate supervision
what attachment pattern do abused children show?
insecure-disorganized attachment
educational neglect
involves actions such as allowing chronic truancy, failing to enroll in school a child who is of mandatory school age, and failing to attend to a child's special educational needs
betrayal
involves the degree to which the child feels the perpetrator gained his confidence through manipulation and coercion, as well as the position of trust or authority help by the perpetrator
other than sexual abuse what is the gender prevalence of maltreatment?
it is generally equal
how does the age of sexual abused victims differ from other forms of maltreatment?
it is inverse it generally occurs >12
what does a history of any form of maltreatment among males raises risks for?
it raises risks for inappropriate sexual behaviors, being alienated from larger society, and social incompetence
what are causes/major contributors to childhood abuse?
little exposure to positive parental models or support during their own upbringing, greater degree of family stress, misinterpretation or mislabeling of their child's behavior (information-processing disturbances), parents who are unaware of what constitutes developmentally appropriate expectations of their children, and parents who show little interest or familiarity with what the role of the parent entails
dissociation
mental escape mechanism for coping which can lead to borderline personality disorder
how many children die at the hands of their parents or caregivers each day in the US?
more than 3
who are reported to be the perpetrators of neglect?
mothers are reported to be the perpetrators of neglect in 90% of the cases
physical abuse
multiple acts of aggression that include punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, shaking, or otherwise physically harming a child
how do neglectful caregivers differ from abusive caregivers?
neglectful parents have more striking personality disorders and inadequate knowledge of children's needs, and they suffer more chronic patterns of social isolation than both abusive and non-maltreating parents; also neglectful caregivers typically disengage when they are under stress, whereas abusive parents become emotionally and behaviorally reactive
how do children of neglect vary by gender?
older boys tend to be more aggressive with peers and dating partners; girls tend to be more passive, withdrawn, and low in self-esteem
emotional neglect
one of the most difficult categories to dfine, includes actions such as marekd inattention to the child's needs for affection, refusal, ore failure to provide needed psychological care, spousal abuse in the child's presence, and permission of drug or alcohol use by the child
what has changed historically in regards to how child abuse is viewed?
originally children were the exclusive property of their fathers (later parents) who had full discretion as to how punishment could be administered
what social and cultural roles play in maltreatment?
our society condones and glorifies violence; for many men, being male means that they have the right to use physical force as a means to dealing with situations of frustration; adults who life below the poverty level suffer more individual and family problems, including substance abuse; maletratment often occurs within families that condone the use of physical forse; and sociocultural factors of inequality (and in particular racisim) play a major role in the incidence of child maltreatment
according to the Ontario Health Supplement what gender differences were found?
physical abuse was reported more often by males, and sexual abuse was more commonly reported by females
what can neglected children suffer from?
physical health problems, limited growth, and increased complications in other health conditions, such as diabetes, allergies, and failure-to-thrive
what have observational studies of the behavior of maltreated children and their non-maltreated peers revealed?
physically abused children engaged in more stealing behaviors, and neglected children engaged in more cheating behaviors and less rule-compatible behaviors
what are the characteristics of the families of maltreated children?
poor and disadvantaged families; single parent (greater risk of both physical abuse and neglect; fathers are twice as likely to physically abuse their kids); larger families (greater risk of physical and educational neglect)
what are the factors that play into child prostitution?
poverty is the greatest factor
'traumatic sexualization'
refers to a situation in which a child is either coerced into engaging in a sexual act, or where a sexual response was evoked on the part of the child
what is an important fact of physical abuse and neglect in the causes of negative family relationships?
relational disorders
sexual abuse
sexual touching, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, and commercial exploit, through prostitution or port (many of the acute symptoms of sexual abuse mirror children's reaction to general stress and anxiety)
what do teens with histories of maltreatment have a much greater risk of?
substance abuse, which in turn, increases the risk of other adjustment problems
what are common features of children with histories of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse?
symptoms of depression, emotional distress, and suicidal ideation; chronic impairments in self-esteem, self-concept, and emotional and behavioral self-regulation, and PTSD
what my be the cause of the difference in the number of maltreatment cases in Canada and the US?
the US has higher poverty rates and less access to medical services
emotion regulation
the ability to modulate or control the intensity and expression of feelings and impulses, especially intense ones, in an adaptive manner
victimization
the abuse or mistreatment of someone whose ability to protect themselves is limited
what are the charateristics in regards to age and gender of victimized children?
the age and gender of the child influence the risk of maltreatment disproportionately such that children who are more vulnerable ore disadvantaged are affected the most; toddlers, preschoolers, and young adolescents are more at risk for physical and emotional abuse (abuse and neglect)
what is a prime factor in how children respond to various forms of stress?
the degree of support and assistance they receive from their parents to help them cope and adapt
battered child syndrome
the early term for physical abuse
what do individuals with histories of physical abuse and violence in the home have an increased risk of?
the have an increased risk for developing interpersonal problems with anger aggression and violence
how do child sex offenders gain the child's compliance?
the majority of child sex offenders do not force or use violence to gain a child's compliance but they emotional seduce a child into compliance
What is the most common form of child maltreatment?
the most common form of child maltreatment reported is neglect
what are the paradoxes experienced by children who are abused?
the victim wants to stop the violence but also longs to belong to a family (loyalty and strong emotional ties to the abuser are powerful opponents to the victim's desire to be safe and protected), affection and attention may coexist with violence and abuse, and the intensity of the violence tends to increase over time (a recurring cycle may begin, whereby mounting tension, characterized by fear and anticipation, ultimately gives way to more abuse behavior), and abusive behavior may vary throughout the relationship, but the adult's abuse of power and control remains the central issue
cycle-of-violence hypothesis
the victims of violence become the perpetrators of violence
non-accidental trauma
the wide-ranging effects of maltreatment on the child's ongoing physical and emotional development
representational models of oneself and others
these are significant because they contain experience, knowledge, and expectations that carry forward to new situations; maltreated children lack the core positive beliefs of this model
what happens if symptoms of depression and mood disturbances go unrecognized?
they are likely to increase during late adolescence and adulthood, and can lead to life threatening suicide attempts and self-mutilating behavior, especially among those sexually or physically abused since childhood
who are most child sex offenders?
they are males, and meet the DSM criteria for pedophila; they frequently have their own histories of sexual abuse
what do neglected children have a tendency to do?
they have a tendency to withdraw from and avoid peer interactions; children of neglect stand out as having the most sever and wide range of problems in school and interpersonal adjustment