Abstract
Child abuse includes all the maltreatment that is done to a child. The abuse may take the form of physical, emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse. The effects of this abuse may result in short-term effects such as injuries, as well as long term effects. The long term effects may include physical health effects, societal effects, emotional effects, psychological effects and others such as homelessness, involvement in risky sexual behaviors among others. These effects are usually dependent on the circumstances that lead to the abuse, child’s personal characteristics and the environment in which the child is living. Since the costs of child abuse are related to the public entities like the education system, health care and human services, child abuse have effects, not just on the child and the family only but to the society as a whole.
Child abuse refers to the physical, emotional or sexual ill-treatment or neglect of a child. Recently, there has been an increase in the problems that are associated with the abuse of children. This increase has been coupled by a rise in the prevalence of abuse cases that are reported, as well as substantiated cases (ASCA, 2008). The issue of child abuse very complicated and may be as a result of multiple causes. Parents who are involved in abusing their spouses physically are more likely to abuse their children physically.
Child abuse may result in effects that may have a direct impact on the children, family or even the whole society. Most of these effects are long-term, which can be profound and enduring long after the act has been committed. They can show up when the victim is still a child, during adolescence, or even when they are adults The long-term effects resulting from child abuse are usually divided into physical, behavioral, psychological, as well as societal effects.. These effects are not easy to separate, and one effect may lead to another effect. For instance, physical consequences such as damage to the brain of a growing child may result in psychological effects such as emotional difficulties or cognitive delay (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013).
Child abuse has a strong relationship with the development of various physical health issues. The adults who have a child abuse history have a greater chance of having physical health problems, as well as chronic pain symptoms as compared to the general population. Some of the physical health problems include heart disease, headaches, diabetes, arthritis, stroke, hepatitis, gastrointestinal problems, and gynecological problems (Springer, Sheridan, Kuo, & Carnes, 2007). Studies have indicated that most of the adult survivors of child abuse have more medical issues when compared to those who are not abused. Child abuse has also been associated with severe illnesses such as heart and liver complications as well as high blood pressure. These physical health problems are in most cases associated with the stress that the individual got on their immune system that result in weak immunity. The stress may have caused the survivors to be involved in high-risk behaviors such as alcohol abuse, smoking, risky sexual behavior, which increase their risk of developing some of the severe illnesses. Exposure to child abuse may also result in the development of some of the chronic pain disorders when the children get to adulthood (Lamont, 2010).
Child abuse has also been associated with most of the persisting mental problems that affect most adults. Incidents of mental health problems are usually linked to a past child abuse history. Some of the mental health problems include disorders such as personality disorders, anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and psychosis Depression has been described as the most common health problem that occurs due to the past abuse. In America, adults who were abused when they were children are more than twice more likely to develop major depression compared to adults who did not have child abuse experience. These people are also six times more in the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder when compared to those adults who did not go through child abuse. The development of these health problems are at an increased rate when the adults experienced child abuse together with parental divorce (Afifi, Boman, Fleisher, & Sareen, 2009). Children who have had physical abuse or multiple forms of abuse are at a greater risk of chronic depression disorders, which may start early in their adulthood.
Children who are placed in isolation from their parents due to abuse usually score less than the other children on measures of language development, cognitive capacity and academic achievement. Children who experience abused by their caretakers do not form secure attachments with the caregivers. This difficulty in forming attachments may result in difficulties, in relationships between the victims and other adults, when they grow up.
Incidents of child abuse are also associated with increased levels of suicidal behaviors among the victims. Adults who are exposed to more than four incidents of child abuse are more likely to attempt committing suicide compared to those who had no incidents of child abuse. Most of the traumatic events such as child abuse have a moderate relationship with suicide incidents. The increased rate of suicidal incidents in survivors of child abuse may be attributed to the increased chances of the survivors developing mental problems (Lamont, 2010).
The other long-term effect of child abuse is the incident of developing obesity and eating disorders among adult who survive child abuse (Johnson, Cohen, Kasen, & Brook, 2002). Children who have gone through abuse may end up developing eating disorders in an effort as sense of comfort or to gain a sense of control. The victims may also be in an environment where there is an unhealthy or insufficient diet (Wonderlich, Brewerton, Jocic, Dansky, & Abbott, 1997). Stress, as well as mental health issues like depression, may increase the chances of an adult who was exposed to child abuse becoming either obese or developing an eating disorder
Research has indicated that adults and especially women who were abused when they were young are at a higher risk of being victimized again later in life. It has been shown that more than 70% of the women who were sexually or physically abused also experience abuse when they are adults. This is compared with 43% of the women who are victimized and had no incidents of child abuse as children. Individuals who have experienced violence as children or who have witnessed violence between their parents are usually at an increased risk of being victimized when they are adults since they are more likely to have a reduced self-esteem. These individuals may have accepted violence as a normal way of dealing with conflict (Mouzos & Makkai, 2004).
There is a strong relationship between child abuse and substance abuse that occurs later when the victim is an adult. Substance abuse in most cases has been seen as a contributor to child abuse. It has been shown that child abuse especially sexual abuse result in substance abuse later in life. The association of physical and sexual abuse and drug abuse has also been shown in women. The strong association between child abuse and drug abuse in women is, however, not evident in men. This is possibly due to failure by the male adults not disclosing incidents of childhood abuse as a result of their social expectations and values. In all the people who are treated for drug abuse, more than 60% of these people report that they had been abused sexually, physically, or emotionally when they were children. In the United States, adults who have had numerous incidents of child abuse are more likely to be alcoholic, users of illicit drugs and to be users of injected drugs. The increased incidents of drug abuse among the victims of child abuse may be as a result of the victims using substances as medication for the trauma symptoms like depression, anxiety and intrusive memories resulting from the abusive history (Lamont, 2010).
The other long-term effect of child abuse is the involvement of the victims in violence as well as criminal behavior. This occurs particularly in those victims who went through physical abuse or those who witnessed incidents of domestic violence. Adults who were abused when they were children are more likely to be arrested, be involved in adult crime and violent criminal behavior. Incidents of child abuse and low family cohesion are also related with the high level of physical abuse of spouses. Those people who witnessed incidents of domestic violence as children have a special association with abusing their spouses psychologically. Most adults who have a history of being physically abused or who witnessed cases of domestic violence may easily be involved in criminal activities since they have learnt that such acts are the appropriate ways of responding to stressful moments and in resolving conflicts (Lamont, 2010).
Research has suggested that about 40% of the individuals who went through child abuse end up maltreating their children. This abuse cycle may occur when the victims of child abuse learn to employ physical punishment as a way of parenting children. It is evident that most of the parents who were abused as children have a greater possibility of abusing their own children (Mouzos & Makkai, 2004). Parents who experienced physical form of abuse may be involved in abusive behavior towards their children or the children under their care. Growing up in an abusive family environment may result in teaching a child the use of aggression and violence as a viable way of dealing with conflicts that occur between persons. This can increase the chances that the cycle of violence will go on when the child attains maturity. Even though connections have been made between grownup survivors of child physical abuse committing a similar kind of abuse on their children, it is not evidently suggestive that parents who were maltreated through other kinds of abuse such as sexual abuse will end up perpetrating the same kind of abuse on their children.
High-risk sexual behavior is the other long-term effect that results from child abuse. People who were involved in child abuse especially sexual abuse may be involved in sexual acts such as being sexually aggressive toward younger and naive children. This is usually as a way for the children to identify with the person who abused them. The victims also get involved in a playful or aggressive sexual behavior with their peers indicating that the victim may have experienced a high degree of pleasure from the sexual abuse. Engaging in high-risk sexual activities may result in transmission of diseases or early pregnancy. Having gone through sexual abuse may increase the chances of the victims participating in group sex. The victims may also be involved in sexual activities such as prostitution. The prevalence of diseases that are sexually transmitted is three times for people who had adverse experiences in their childhood. Some of the factors that may increase the likelihood of the victims engaging in risky sexual activities include the feeling of unworthiness, as well as lack of assertiveness and ability to prevent unnecessary sexual advice. The victims may also feel unworthy as well as having competing necessity for acceptance and affection (Lamont, 2010).
There has also been a strong association between the cases of child abuse and homelessness that is experiences in adults. Lack of care and incidents of physical or sexual childhood abuse are highly associated with increased levels of adult homelessness. Experiencing adverse childhood events has a great correlation with the negative behaviors that are witnessed among adults who are homeless. Increased rates of homelessness in adults who were abused in their childhood may be as a result of difficulties that they go through trying to secure employment. Although there is not supportive information relating histories of child abuse and lack of employment, most children who are abused do not perform well academically and this may result in difficulties getting employment in their adulthood. The relationship between child abuse and homelessness may be connected with the other effects such as drug abuse, mental health problems, as well as violent and aggressive behavior, which may make getting a home a challenging task (Lamont, 2010).
In conclusion, the long-term effects that result as a result of child abuse are numerous and may range from physical effects, psychological and emotional to social effects. These effects have an adverse effect in the life of the victim and may even be passed on the generations to come. The effects are usually dependent on the circumstances that lead to the abuse, child’s personal characteristics and the environment in which the child is living. Since the costs of child abuse are related to the public entities like the education system, health care and human services, child abuse have effects, not just on the child and the family only but to the society as a whole.
Reference List
Afifi, T. O., Boman, J., Fleisher, W., & Sareen, J. (2009). The relationship between child abuse, parental divorce, and lifetime mental disorders and suicidality in a nationally representative adult sample. Child abuse & neglect, 33(3), 139-147.
ASCA. (2008). impact of child abuse. Retrieved July 12, 2013, from http://www.asca.org.au/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=11
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Long-Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect, https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/long_term_consequences.cfm#sitetop. Retrieved July 12, 2013
Johnson, J., Cohen, P., Kasen, S., & Brook, J. (2002). Childhood adversities associated with risk for eating disorders or weight problems during adolescence or early adulthood. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(3), 394-400.
Lamont, A. (2010). Effects of child abuse and neglect for adult survivors. Retrieved July 12, 2013, from http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/sheets/rs20/rs20.html
Mouzos, J., & Makkai, T. (2004). Women's experiences of male violence. Findings from the Australian component of the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS). Retrieved July 12, 2013, from http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/5/8/D/{58D8592E-CEF7-4005-AB11-B7A8B4842399}RPP56.pdf
Springer, K. W., Sheridan, J., Kuo, D., & Carnes, M. (2007). Long-term physical and mental health consequences of childhood physical abuse: Results from a large population-based sample of men and women. Child abuse & neglect, 31(5), 517-530.
Wonderlich, S. A., Brewerton, T. D., Jocic, Z., Dansky, B. S., & Abbott, D. W. (1997). Relationship of childhood sexual abuse and eating disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(8), 1107–1115.
