Effects Of Child Abuse

Child abuse is a reoccurring problem that is growing in today’s society. There are many different types of abuse such as; physical, emotional, and neglect; all of which can affect the child’s development and how they behave in society, because it takes mental and physical tolls on a child that leads to life-long effects.

Physical abuse can be defined by, any juvenile less than 18 years of age whose parents, guardian, custodian, or caretaker inflects or allows to be inflected upon the juvenile a serious physical injury by other than accidental means. A child that is abused may experience one or more of the following: hitting, shaking, choking, biting, kicking, punching, burning, poisoning, suffocating, or being held under water (North Carolina Juvenile code). Physical abuse may lead to bruises, cuts, welts, burns, fractures, internal injuries or in the most extreme cases death. Initial impact on children will be the immediate pain and suffering and medical problems caused by the physical injury. The pain will last long after the bruises and wounds have healed. The longer physical abuse of a child occurs, the more serious the impact is on the child. Even though there are many cases of physical abuse only some of the cases are reported.

Another type of abuse is emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior that impairs a child's emotional development or sense of self-worth. Emotional abuse may include constant criticism, threats, or rejection, as well as withholding love, support, or guidance. Emotional abuse is almost always present when other forms of abuse are identified. “There are many professional opinions backed up by years of research. Abuse of any kind tends to impact a person’s self-esteem and mental health” (Heher). Emotional abuse effects the child’s development and how they behave when they grow up. Statistics underscore the alarming effects of child abuse over time, 36.7% of all women in prison and 14.4% of all men in prison in the...