Child Abuse: An Unfortunate Reality in Modern Society - Essay Sample

Introduction

Child abuse is one of the problems facing many societies in the world today. The abuse can take different forms and nature. It can be emotional, verbal, physical, psychological or sexual. In many cases, child abuse takes the form of an act. However, there is also another form of inaction which may result in the harm of a child. It has been found out that people who come from families engaging in alcoholism, drug and substance abuse, and anger are more likely to experience child abuse compared to those who do not come from such families. The effects of child abuse have far much-reaching effects that can affect their adulthood. Child abuse is not restricted to a specific society; it is experienced in all areas across the world. The effects of child abuse may bring many problems in adulthood, including violence, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, mental disorders, crime, and re-victimization, among others. These consequences may be independent of each other however, may be interrelated.

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Forms and Nature of Child Abuse

Violence is one of the childhood abuses that usually impact greatly in adulthood. The violence in children can be brought by family members like parents, relatives and caregivers of the child. The peers may also cause violence in children in many forms. Violence in children can be in physical ways, psychological ways and emotional ways. The physical violence manifests in terms of battering of the child and can lead to a lasting effect of the individual in later life such as brain damage caused by head trauma. It is also associated with certain regions in the brain failing to form, function or grow. In some countries corpal punishminet is considered child abuse. It will also bring about the physical torture that may lead to dangerous side effects to the person in old age such as serious pains. Children who are physically abused may show signs such as bruises, broken bones and flinches when touched. Children who are physically abused are at higher risk for malnutrition and diabetes that also has a long term effect (widom, 2012). The psychological violence also may bring about suffering later in the life of an individual. The psychological violence that a child is exposed to at an early age will greatly impact on him in later life. The psychological violence results in the torture of the mind that manifest as depression, educational difficulties, low- self esteem and trouble forming and maintaining relationships. Children who had been psychologically abused may suffer from anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, post traumatic stress disorder and suicidality. Brain development disruption caused by psychological abuse can impair the brains working memory, self control and cognitive flexibility.

When an infant has been neglected, it is not always easy to recognize. Kids who are neglected also avoid talking because they are scared they're punished or nobody supports them. The one who hurt them could also be someone they respect and want to defend (Yates, 2019). Families often cannot understand violence signs because they might not want to deal with this circumstance. It is understood that the effects of abuse in children increase the risk of depression, but there is little research on other characteristics of suicidal victims of child abuse.

Psychological violence in an individual involves the use of threats and verbal abuse to an individual at a tender age. The effect of this violence emerges later life, for the individual; memory of the violence is found still intact in an individual. The emotional violence also plays a great role in child abuse during the early ages. Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior that impairs a child's self worth and emotional development. The emotions of a child are usually tampered with by abuse and unwelcoming language by family members, relatives, teachers, and peer groups; it may evoke serious impacts on the individual in later life. Children who are emotionally abused, may have poor mental development and also lack of positive relationships in life. The individual in old age will still fear to be associated with such cases of violence. It has been researched that almost 63% of the individuals who experience child violence at an early age are still faced with serious impacts like pains, psychological torture and emotional discomfort in their later life (Widom & Wilson, 2015). It is critical to underline the value of more proactive public health strategies to prevent child abuse. The symptoms of child abuse are known to raise the risk of trauma, however, little study is under way into other aspects of child abuse suicide victims.

Alcoholism is also one of the vices that expose one to child abuse that later brings about a lot of side effects on the person at old age. This is usually done by the exposure of the child to unhealthy practices such as partying in clubs and uncontrolled behavior. The child is usually exposed to alcoholism by the family, friends, peers and the community with which they find themselves. The individual who may have been exposed to alcoholism at an early age may be experiencing many problems in the future, usually in old age. Children who grow up around alcoholism are more likely to abuse alcohol and substances in their adult age. Drinking liquor may result in an attack of various diseases such as liver disorders, lung problems as well as kidney problems. These diseases, in turn, affect the elderly economically, socially, and psychologically. The family and relatives get a significant financial burden regarding the time and cost of medication for the adult. Alcoholism may sometimes cause accelerated aging of an adult who has been exposed to alcohol abuse from childhood. The alcoholism will also bring about less commitment to work as a result of alcoholism, which takes most of the time. Alcohol and substance use in adulthood is a common coping mechanism to stop thinking about the traumatic abuse they've received as a child.

Impact of Violence in Childhood on Adulthood

Child abuse may bring a variety of effects in the adulthood of an individual. Social crimes like theft and burglary may bring many effects to an individual in the later life. Persons of a younger age are usually exposed to various crimes because of peer pressure, the community, and the family at large. Social crimes have a lot of adverse effects on the life of an individual. Crimes bring about physical harm to the individual, like bruises, facial deformation, and physical impairments that will. It is so because of the exposure of the individual to the child abuse during the early ages. According to the studies on child abuse and crime rates, it has been found that almost 47% of people involved in crime in childhood ages are likely to be affected negatively in the future. It is, therefore, a worldwide concern for the alleviation of child crimes early enough in the global perspectives. Further, it has been found out by some scholars that crimes lead to the degradation of the moral values of adulthood. It means that even the old individuals have not parted with childhood behaviors (min et al., 2013).

Sexual abuse may also cause many implications in the adulthood of an individual. Sexual abuse of the children may cause very low self-esteem to an individual. Children who have been sexually abused tend to believe that they are the reasons for such problems. Abused children lose trust in those who are supposed to care for them. If an individual can't trust their parents then who can they trust? Some abused children do not know healthy relationships. Additionally, these children are more likely to engage in risk-taking such as early initiation of sexual behaviors and a higher number of sexual partners. They later start to find out who they are and what they are supposed to do and feel guilty of the act and they usually get shy. Children who experienced sexual abuse develops anxiety and depression when thinking about the abuse. Childhood sexual abuse is frightening and can cause long term stress. Scholars have provided that, if one has been sexually abused during childhood period, the adult relationships may be negatively affected. Even if the adult faces some sexual abuse just like the childhood one, he or she will remain in the marriage or relationship. However, if one was not abused in childhood, she/he will not tolerate sexual abuse in adulthood relationships or marriage. The individual usually exits the relationship swiftly as compared to people who were abused during their tender age (Cashmore & Shackel, 2013).

Anxiety and Depression as Outcomes of Childhood Abuse

Anxiety also may bring about the effects in adulthood. A child who had been abused at an early age, their adulthood will be affected adversely. The kind of anxiety that an individual develops in childhood is likely to affect him in adulthood. Fear and emotions that are subjected by the peers or parents to a child will be reflected in the future. Parents, teachers, and relatives should not inflict fear, tension and many worries to children but focus on positive thoughts. Anxiety is not healthy for an individual because it may lead to a high number of anxiety disorders in adulthood. The negative and wild thoughts are so destructive to the mind of an individual. In adulthood, the anxiety may impact on the individual based on the previous subjections. Uncontrolled anxiety may bring about restlessness and feelings of extremities. Adulthood may be characterized by the feelings of worry, which arises from the child abuse on anxiety. There may also be difficulties in concentration on essential things that are brought about by anxiety. Depression may also play a role in adulthood if it had existed early on an individual. The depression can be imposed on a child by parents who deny a child certain freedom and rights. If one is subjected to depression at an early age, then even in adulthood, he will suffer from it. Their adulthood will be sad; have reduced interest and mood in activities because of childhood abuse (Perez-Fuentes et al., 2013).

Many facts indicate a connection between child abuse and the neglect and the dangers of trying to engage in suicide by young persons and adults. According to studies done by scholars, children who had the worst experiences at an early age are more likely to commit suicide than those who didn't have such exposure. Moreover, children who had been traumatized in the early years are more likely to be subjected to suicide even in old age. The survivors of child abuse and neglect who experience trauma and suicidal behavior are also likely to be affected by mental health. There is also an essence of disorders associated with eating and obesity that are more frequent in an adult who experienced child abuse. There is a good link between child abuse and obesity in later adulthood, according to the studies. Other forms of abuse like sexual abuse, physical abuse, and domestic violence may result in increased obesity and eating disorders both in women and men of adult age. Childhood stress and mental effects may also contribute greatly to one being obese and having eating problems (Sperry& Widom, 2013).

Conclusion

Various psychological and physical tests have been devised to understand the existence of child abuse in various cases. The inspector always has to perform a detailed physical exam so that any signs of physical or sexual abuse can be identified (Cooks, 2019). The two forms of violence will coexist-and they often do. The more the abuse goes on, the less possible it will be to recover completely physically or emotionally. In the body or actions of an infant, parents will look for unexpected shifts. Only if a parent has reason to suspect their child has been harmed should thorough investigation be performed. The child may otherwise be frightened.