AN INTRODUCTION
We are currently living in a time when the world of medicine is making historical breakthroughs in the world of science everyday. Also many times we hear of diseases being caused by viruses. A VIRUS would attack its host and alter it physically after a period of time. CHILD ABUSE is just like a virus. It infects, it spreads and it alters it's victim.
According to Law through the “Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act”; A CHILD is a person not yet 18 years old, except in cases or sex abuse or the age specified by the Child Protection Law of the USA. (These laws differ from state to state) CHILD ABUSE is any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious emotional or physical harm, sexual abuse or exploitation. An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.
Child Abuse is not only a personal or family problem, it is a problem that faces society as a whole. Children who suffer from abuse many times grow up to affect the society in a negative manner. They suffer from psychological damage that's stays with them their entire lifetime.
There are different types of Child Abuse and they are:
- Emotional Abuse (Patrice)
- Physical Abuse (Anna)
- Child Neglect (Michelle)
- Verbal Abuse (Sharmaine)
- Sexual Abuse (Myself)
One form of abuse rarely occurs without the presence of another. In every state of abuse there is one that accompanies all the rest and that is “EMOTIONAL ABUSE.”
EMOTIONAL ABUSE
There are two definitions for EMOTIONAL ABUSE. The first is taken from “The National Center on Child Abuse” which defines Emotional Abuse as “acts or omissions by the parents or caretakers that have caused, or could cause serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders.” The second definition is taken from “The American Medical Association (AMA)” which defines Emotional Abuse as “when a child is regularly threatened, yelled at, humiliated, ignored, blamed or otherwise emotionally mistreated.
Emotional Abuse is more than just an attack with words, it is the suppression of the child's emotional and social development, thus making it a threat to the development of a healthy person. Emotional Abuse takes many forms and here are all 11;
Belittling This is where a child sees themselves in a way that justifies the actions of the abusers. This limit the child's own potential.
Coldness This gets the name from the type of emotion the parent or guardian expresses towards a child during the early life when they should be seeing security and love from their parents. This deprives the child of the necessary tools for intellectual and social development.
Corrupting Is when the parents teach the child to engage in antisocial behavior which makes the child unfit for normal social interaction later in life.
Cruelty this is similar to coldness but it is more severe. It therefore hinders the mental progression of the child.
Extreme Inconsistency from an adult will confuse a child and not make them learn what is expected of them from the start. This can affect all areas of learning since there is no consequent interaction for the child to shape from.
Harassment scares a child by giving them repeated exposure to fear. The effects are similar to that of Belittling but also has a stress response in it. This affects a child physically making them vulnerable in the face of stressful situations.
Ignoring a child deprives him/her of all the essential stimulation necessary for emotional, intellectual and social development.
Inappropriate Control This is further broken into 3 more forms
Lack of Control, which puts children at risk for danger or harm to themselves.
Over Control which stops children form experiencing and exploring the world around them. Inconsistent Control which can cause anxiety and confusion which leads to problematic behaviors.
Isolating This type of abuse is often accompanied by other types of emotional abuse and many times by Physical abuse. It cuts them off from normal social experiences and leads to depression and seriously impairs intellectual, social and emotional development.
RejectingThis is the negating of the child's 'self image' by showing them that they have no value. Children who suffer from this type of abuse find a range of disturbed self-soothing methods. To show the extent of rejection let us look at an infant. If an infant is rejected it has almost no chance of becoming a healthy adult.
Terrorizing is like harassment and creates as stress response in children. This alters a child physically by lowering the ability to fight off diseases.
It can be seen that EMOTIONAL ABUSE is the core of other forms of abuse. It is more detrimental to the health of a child by suppressing their resistance at a young age.
