Psychology Term Paper (Term Paper Sample)

Child Abuse
Name:
Professor
Institution
Course
Date:
Introduction
Child abuse means treating a child in the wrong way. The historical records are filled with reports of weak, unkempt, and malnourished children who have been cast out by their own families to fend for their selves, and of children who have found themselves in an abusive situation such as sexual abuse. Charitable groups have been advocating for children protection and others concerned with the welfare of children. Conversely, the matter of children being subjected to abusive situations have never received widespread attention by the general public or even families, and until today it is still happening. Therefore, this essay discusses how children have been thrust into unfortunate abusive situations and how the system has marginalized their problems. The study also covers various methods that have enabled children to flourish and rise above their horrific beginnings.
Manifestation of Child Abuse
An abuse that children are undergoing is psychological or emotional because it involves changing the thinking or emotional response of a child. This type of abuse normally gives negative messages to the child about themselves, for instance, referring them as stupid or ugly. This also entails dominant conduct that forces submission from the child or degrading the child. Presently, this is approximated to be 8.1% of child abuse. Injuries that are inflicted by a parent or anyone on a child can take several forms (Kelly, 2013). Very serious damage or death in children abused mostly results from the head injury or internal organs. Head trauma, due to the result of abuse in most cases, is the common consequence of death in children and the involved are those in the two years of life being the one most susceptible. Due to the force applied, it passes to the body through the skin, and the patterns of skin injury can offer confirmation of abuse. In addition, the skeletal abuse manifestations include many fractures that appears during different healing stages, fractures of bones which are infrequently broken under circumstances that are normal, and characteristic fracturing of the long bones as well as ribs (Mayers, 2014).
Moreover, shaking is a prevalent kind of abuse observed in most young children. Most of the affected fall less than nine months old. Many of the performers of these abuses are the male, although this might be more of a reflection of the truth that male gender, being averagely stronger than female, tend to apply great force, due to that they are prone to shaking children than female. Retinal haemorrhages, intracranial haemorrhages, and too small chip fractures at the key joints of the children extremities could result from rapid shaking of a child. They can as well follow from a combination of head hitting a surface. It is evident that close to a third of severe infants are shaken and die and a majority of those who survive suffer consequences that are long-term, for instance, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and blindness (Mayers, 2014).
Sexual Abuse
Additionally, a sexual abuse is always heard happening between parents and their children, as well as people outside the family dynamic. Sexual abuse can be photographing, engaging in sexual activity or forcing children engage in sexual activities. 9.2 % of a child abuse are reported to be the sexual harassment. Children might be brought to the attention of a professional due to behavioural or physical fears that, on deeper examination, can result in sexual abuse. It is common for children who are sexually abused to show symptoms of genital injury, infection, abdominal pain, chronic, constipation or recurrent urinary tract infections and behavioural problems (Fontes, 2008). However, detection of child sexual abuse need a high suspicion index and familiarity with the behavioural, verbal, and physical indicators of abuse. Most children would disclose abuse to nannies or even others spontaneously, although there might also be indirect behavioural or physical signs.
Neglect
Child neglect manifestations exist in large numbers, and it is also one of the thrust scenarios that children found themselves unknowingly. These include non-compliance with the recommendations of health care, failing to appropriately seek health care, depriving food hence resulting in hunger, and also the failure of children physical thriving. In addition, the other causes for concerns include exposing children to drug abuse, as well as inadequate protection from dangers in the environment (Hahm & Guterman, 2004). Also, neglect stands at 78.3% of all the child abuse. Moreover, inadequate supervision, abandonment, poor hygiene and also being deprived right to education are all considered as evidence of neglect that children are exposed to (Bridge, 2008). Also, children have been subjected to physical abuse. They are beaten or physically attacked. However, it could be an actual beating or slapping, throwing things or anything else that are intended to harm or injure them as well. It is approximated that 17.6 % of child abuse in United States are physical abuse (Kelly, 2013). Studies have also found cases of children going through trauma due to neglect from their families (Bridge, 2008).
Corporal Punishment
Parents have the right to instill discipline in a child, but they abuse this power. Children have been subjected to corporal punishment in the form of hitting, kicking punching, or even beating, and this is legally and socially accepted in the society (Fontes, 2008). In most cases, it is an important phenomenon in institutions and other schools as well as penal systems for the young offenders. However, the United Nations Convention concerning the Rights of children requires nations to protect child from any mental or physical violence when they are under care of their parents or any other persons, and the UN Committee on the Child Rights has underlined and stated that corporal punishment is not compatible with the UN Convention.
Nevertheless, the system have marginalized these problems. Studies show that the corporal punishment remains legal in most countries for the juvenile offenders and in at least 65 nations, in institutions and schools. Children corporal punishment is acceptable legally at home in all nations. However, where this practice has persistently not been confronted by the public education and legal reform, the few existing prevalence research are suggesting that it remains mostly common. Corporal punishment is most dangerous for a child. In a short term period, thousands of children have been killed every year, others injured and many left handicapped.
However, in the longer term period, a larger body of studies have shown it to be an important factor in violent behaviour development, and it is associated with other challenges in childhood and life later on. In addition, the evidence up to date for the effectiveness of certain treatment programs is contradicting and limited. Two evaluations, for instance, of similar ten weeks group counselling program produced different outcomes. In one, the child in the group intervention was able to provide a description of more strategies and skills to avoid being involved in conflicts that are violent. This is between their guardians and parents and seeking out support more than the children in the comparison groupings, at the same time in other, no differences between comparison groups and treatment were observed (Gill, 2009).
Methods applied that Enable Children Flourish
However, while the child abuse prevention is universally proclaimed to be a significant social policy, very little work, surprisingly, has been undertaken to investigate how preventive interventions are effective. Most of the programs only focus on perpetrators or victims of the neglect and child abuse. There are very few emphasis on key prevention approaches that are aiming to prevent situations such as the neglect and child abuse from happening (Gill 2009). The most common responses are described as below.
Family Support Approaches
Quite a number of preventative interventions such as the parenting practices and offering family support have been formed. Such programs educate parents on the development of a child and assist them to improve their skills on ways of managing the behaviour of their children. However, most of the programs are just intended for use with families of high-risk and those families that abuse has already happened, it is highly considered that education provision, as well as training in this part for prospective parents or all the parents, can be useful (Gill, 2009).
Health Service Approaches
From the book by Kelley 2013, the boy who was raised as a dog provide much richer understanding of how trauma does to children and how they can be assisted to heal from it so that they can flourish. Some child trauma academics have been founded and a group of professionals dedicated to improving the lives of high risking children, as well as their families (Perry & Szalavite, 2007). The professionals from health care have a primary part to play in the identification, referring and treating neglect cases, abuse as well as reporting suspected cases of maltreatment to the authorities that are responsible. It is important that cases of children maltreatment are detected very early, so as to reduce the consequences for children and to launch the required services.
Safely Revisiting Subjective Experience
This is helping the children to revisit their traumatic experience and work on these subjective experience created by past exposure and focusing not on the trauma experience itself but on how they are experiencing themselves. Moreover, the following intervention supports a safer intervention for the children as well as the practitioner. They include introducing choice and control using a structured approach as well ...