Child Abuse Research Paper

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Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in 1989, prescribes that parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social, and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse. Until now this research paper has been disregarded throughout the world. In laying blame we should not only consider third-world countries (with child labor, prostitution, and soldiers) but also the rich industrial countries, where violence against children must be seen as a ‘social epidemic.’

1. Forms Of Child Abuse

There are four forms of child abuse:

• Physical abuse. Blows or other violent actions, resulting in injuries to children, such as being beaten, hit, whipped, pushed down stairs, hurled against a wall, burned with hot water cigarettes, jammed in doors car windows, tortured with needles, put into cold water or pushed under water, made to eat their own faeces or drink their own urine, strangling, and poisoning.
• Sexual abuse. Any action that is inflicted upon or must be tolerated by a child against their own will or any action about which the child cannot make a decision due to their physical, emotional, mental, or verbal inferiority. The offenders use their position of power and authority to satisfy their own needs at the expense of these children who thus suffer discrimination as sexual objects. Sexual abuse between children themselves is manifest when one child is much older and or uses force.
• Neglect. Considerable impact on or damage to a child’s development due to a lack of care, clothing, feeding, medical care, supervision, or protection from danger.
• Emotional abuse. Outright rejection, intimidation, terrorization, or isolation of a child. Actions such as verbal abuse discrimination on a daily basis, locking a child in a dark room, tying them to a bed and many other major threats, including to their lives.

2. Prevalence Of Forms Of Abuse

This research paper draws on survey results from German-speaking countries and the United States as they are deemed to be representative of comparable statistics from modern industrial countries.

2.1 Physical Abuse

A representative survey (Pfeiffer and Wetzels 1997) of 16 to 59 year olds in Germany about their childhood experiences of physical parental violence indicates a distinction between physical punishment and physical abuse. Physical punishment is defined as intentionally inflicting pain to control a child’s behavior but without intending to cause severe injuries or damage and without violating (existing!) laws. Physical abuse definitely violates laws, as injuries to the child are either intentional or tolerated as a consequence of these violent actions. The incidences of violence observed are listed in Table 1.

Of the persons interviewed, 74.9 percent confirmed having experienced physical parental violence in their childhood, and 10.6 percent definitely suffered physical parental abuse.

2.2 Sexual Abuse

Recent retrospective studies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (Deegener 2000) suggest that about 15 to 25 percent of women and 5 to 10 percent of men questioned had been sexually abused in their child- hood or adolescence. We believe that the approximate incidence and severity of sexual abuse in both sexes is as shown in Table 2. Almost two thirds of victims were ever only abused on one occasion. One third of cases involved repeated sexual abuse. However in the latter group, about 10 percent of cases continued over periods exceeding 12 months and extending to several years. Such long-term sexual abuse is perpetrated predominately by a victim’s relatives. Between 80 and 90 percent of offenders are male.

2.3 Neglect And Emotional Abuse

If defined in conservative terms, the extent of these forms of abuse in Germany far exceeds the incidence of the other two forms. If defined in broader terms, it is not an exaggeration to say that the bullying of children is widespread and commonplace.

2.4 Statistics From The USA

The National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (1995) indicates that over three million (suspected) victims were recorded in 1994 in the USA. Almost 1300 of these children died as a result of abuse and neglect. Elders (1999) reports 3,195,000 registered cases of child abuse in 1997, with one million cases being confirmed. However, only 50 to 75 percent of all registered cases were adequately investigated. Over the years the following averages have been determined: 45 to 50 percent are cases of neglect, 25 percent of physical abuse, 10 percent of sexual abuse, 3 percent of emotional abuse, and 15 percent of other causes.

2.5 Combination Of Different Forms Of Abuse

Multiple episodes of maltreatment during childhood are more the rule than the exception. Pfeiffer and Wetzels (1997) found that even in the youngest age group (i.e., 16 to 29 year olds), approximately one sixth of adolescents and young adults in Germany had been victims of frequent or severe physical parental violence or sexual abuse (involving physical contact and abuse outside the family). Employing a rather conservative estimate, we believe that about one fifth of this young generation has been affected by physical parental violence, sexual victimization, or frequent adult partner violence.

2.6 Assessing The Incidence Of Child Abuse

The extent of child abuse invites comparison with a global epidemic. However, in contrast to the degree of professional, political, and public attention received by other diseases, child abuse is neglected. Sadler et al. (1999) for example, estimate that the incidence of abuse is ten times higher than that of all forms of cancer. The ‘costs’ of child abuse are tremendously high, with the ‘human costs’ of the sociopsychological, cognitive, and physical consequences of abuse being inestimable. Courtney (1999) quotes a 1993 estimate for the USA, indicating that approximately 11.4 billion US$ was spent on examining abused children, providing medical care to severely injured children, treating victims and their families, and caring for children in foster families. In addition, Courtney cites Westman, who calculates that expenditure due to ‘incompetent parenting’ (in broad terms) in the USA amounts to about 38.6 billion US$ each year.

3. Causes Of Child Abuse

More specific causal models are becoming accepted in research and clinical practice (Cicchetti 1989), resulting in a marked improvement in early recognition, therapy and prevention. Four groups of influences can be identified which interact within a complex reference framework:

(a) At the individual level there is the perpetrator’s life history and personality, e.g., their own experiences of childhood abuse, early separation of parents, periods in (foster) homes, emotional disturbances, or alcohol and drug abuse.

(b) At the family level there are maladjusted parent–child relationships, partner conflicts and problems, etc.

(c) At the social level there are factors involving poverty, unemployment, meager and limited housing, social ghettos, and insufficient social support, etc.

(d) At the community level there are, among other things, a high tolerance of violence and aggression and a high degree of violence in their upbringing.

There are numerous interactions between these levels that may lead to (acute or protracted) familial destabilization, resulting in neglect or physical abuse. In addition to the risk factors, which may increase the probability of child abuse, one must consider the preventative factors, which reduce the risk and consequences of abuse.

4. Consequences Of Child Abuse

Not only can child abuse influence every aspect of behavior and experience, but it can also lead to psychosomatic diseases and physical injuries (Egle et al. 2000). In addition, child abuse influences the attachment of children to their parents and their relationships with their peers. However, as the shortand long-term consequences are not specific there can be various other causes.

Whereas some research suggests that the consequences of child abuse can last throughout a person’s life, other research shows that abused children suffer few (if any) adverse consequences. During the 1990s, a growing number of investigators has identified many mediating and moderating factors that can either ameliorate or exacerbate the consequences of child abuse (Masten et al. 1990, Kendall-Tackett et al. 1993, Kaplan et al. 1999):

characteristics of the child’s experiences (e.g., nature, frequency, severity, type, and prior history of child abuse);

resources of the child (e.g., good social and academic competencies, endearing temperament);

vulnerability of the child (e.g., psychiatric disorder, low intelligence, insecure attachment style, early onset of the abuse);

social support of the child (e.g., good relationship with the nonabusing parent, support of significant others from outside the family, psychotherapy).

Therefore, the extent of the negative consequences of child abuse depends on complex transactional processes between vulnerability or risk factors on the one hand, and resiliency or compensatory factors on the other hand. The term ‘resiliency’ should not be understood to minimize the suffering of abused children or justify criticism of those children who are not resilient. However, some children from violent homes are less influenced by their abuse than others and develop effective coping skills and strategies. In this connection, the relationship between the causes and consequences of child abuse must also be considered: a low intelligence may—for example—stimulate abusive behavior by parents or caretakers, but low intelligence can also be a negative consequence of severe abusive experiences in early childhood.

Generalizing, the severity of the consequences of child abuse depends especially on the following factors: the age and developmental stage of the child, the length and severity of the abuse, and the relationship of the abuser to the victim. Therefore, long-term severe abuse of a young child perpetrated by a parent tends to produce more detrimental effects on the emotional, physical, social, and cognitive development than shorter-term abuse of an older child by a stranger. In the case of long-term physical abuse it is not uncommon to find a range of injuries inflicted at different times. The consequences of neglect remain underestimated (i.e., ‘neglected neglect’).

5. Prevention

The extent to which abusive educational measures (including physical punishment) are tolerated varies widely from country to country as a function of the sociocultural context. Except for legal prosecution in confirmed cases of child abuse, the rights of parents (or teachers, etc.) to employ a wide range of seemingly appropriate educational measures (including physical punishment) remain unchallenged.

In 1979 Sweden introduced a law banning physical punishment, addressing this grey zone between ‘permitted’ and ‘illegal’ educational measures. Countries such as Finland (1984), Denmark (1986), Norway (1987), and Austria (1989) followed suit. In Germany the following law was passed in 2000: ‘Children have the right to a non-violent upbringing and education. Physical punishment, emotional abuse and other discriminatory measures are unacceptable.’ This does not imply an increase in prosecutions. As Sweden has demonstrated successfully, the objective is rather to alter the value system and influence the ‘legal hygiene,’ while simultaneously strengthening the support for a nonviolent upbringing and education. An education conducted in accordance with the above-mentioned UN conventions and with the child-protection provisions found in many other constitutions would not tolerate physical punishment or other discriminatory educational measures.

Adequate prevention requires worldwide birth control, a reduction in poverty, an improvement in both socio-ecological and living conditions, the improvement of general education standards and lifelong learning (including parent training), and a reduction in the wide power and relationship gap existing between men and women, resulting from raising boys to be ‘masters’ and girls to be ‘servants.’ About one third of all cases of sexual abuse violation are committed by male adolescents.

Furthermore, there should be independent, state nominated representatives for minors, whose role is to replace parents at the community level and to fight for children’s needs and rights in society. The young should also have more opportunities to co-determine what occurs by means of an institution such as a children’s or young people’s parliament. Special broad-scale support programs for families parents at risk (such as home visits to teenage mothers or high-risk women during pregnancy) should be offered, and more assistance should be available to families in serious difficulty.

The predominant objectives of prevention need to be: (a) to interrupt the generational cycle of family violence, (b) to teach future generations humanitarian attitudes and civil behavior, and (c) to promote ‘social parenting’ and ‘structural security’ instead of ‘structural violence’ for all children.

There is widespread condemnation when child abuse or violent acts committed by (abused) adolescents become public, but this still tends to be little more than lip service. We tend to avoid reflecting upon our own violent relationships and actions, obscuring these by employing projections of monstrous child abusers. Appropriate responsibility for children and their futures is not being implemented for one simple reason: ‘We are all against such things as child pornography, but only a few are willing to actually support programs that could save children’s lives, because these cost money and comfort and require another form of living and life’ (Sigusch 1996).

Bibliography:

1. Cicchetti D 1989 How research on maltreatment has informed the study of child development: perspectives from developmental psychopathology. In: Cicchetti D, Carlson V (eds.) Child Maltreatment. Theory and Research on the Causes and Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect. Cambridge University Press, New York
2. Courtney M E 1999 The economics. Child Abuse and Neglect 23: 975–86
3. Deegener G 2000 Die Wurde des Kindes. Pladoyer fur eine Erziehung ohne Gewalt [The dignity of the child. A plea for an upbringing without violence]. Beltz, Weinheim, Germany
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7. Kendall-Tackett K A, Meyer Williams L, Finkelhor D 1993 Impact of sexual abuse on children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies. Psychological Bulletin 113: 164–80
8. Masten A S, Best K M, Garmezy N 1990 Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity. Development and Psychopathology 2: 425–44
9. National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (NCPCA) 1995 Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities. The Results of the 1994 Annual Fifty State Survey. NCPCA, Chicago
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12. Sigusch V 1996 Kultureller Wandel der Sexualitat [Sexuality in cultural transition]. In: Sigusch V (ed.) Sexuelle Storungen und ihre Behandlung [Sexual disorders and their treatment]. Thieme, Stuttgart