Child Abuse Myth

Child Abuse Myth

Introduction

Child abuse or maltreatment is a physical, psychological or sexual harassment or neglect of the child with regards to parental care. Child abuse may comprise of the failures of the parents or the caregiver to act when necessary resulting in a potential distortion of the child either mentally or physically. This type of harm to the children can occur in any setting like home, school, or even organizations and the communities the child interacts with. The types of child abuse range from physical abuse which constitutes the use of extra internal force against the child, the sexual abuse where an adult or adolescent abuse the child for sexual pleasure, the psychological abuse non-accidental or symbol acts but have adverse effects on the child mind and the entire development. There is also neglect which is the failure of the parents or the caregivers to provide the necessary requirements for the child (Berlin et al, 2011). Child abuse has adverse effects on the child’s development. There are myths and misconceptions that people who were abused as children are likely to abuse their own children. This claim depends so much on breaking the circle of abuse. If the circle is broken, the claim remains null, otherwise, it holds. Research has been conducted in relation to child abuse and the possible measures to break it. These research have sparked debates focused on the fact that children who at one point were abused, are most likely to abuse when they become adults. So the governments concentrate efforts to families which are susceptible to child abuse. These families are even supported and this would ensure huge dividends are paid in the long term since when the incidences are reduced in the short term, there is the likelihood of knock-on effect occurrence on reducing the number of the number of adults who might be abusers (Braquehais et al, 2010). The framework of this research is based on the claim that people who were abused as children are likely to abuse their own children.

Findings

Association between Childhood Experience and Adult Behavior

This association involves a selection method. In this research, I selected 100 depressant adult inpatients in order to examine whether a higher frequency of reported childhood trauma would be common I depressed adults with high levels of suicidal behavior and trait impulsivity. In this research, the whole assessment was based on trait impulsivity and the number of times they have attempted suicide in their lifetime and the intentions of death associated with most lethal attempts. I compared these variables between those with reported history and those without a reported history of childhood sexual or physical maltreatment. Those who reported any historical abuse were prone to suicidal attempts. Besides, they had higher significant changes in impulse activities which were high in this case (Braquehais et al, 2010). The aggression scores in the subjects also were higher in the adults who recorded an abuse in history than those who did not record any abuse in history. In cases of at least one suicide attempt, there was high and significant impulsivity and aggression scores. Applying the use of logistic regression analysis, the revelation was that the abuse in history was high and significantly associated with suicide attempt especially, after the adjustments of the regression variables. Considering the number which attempted suicide, the severity of the suicidal behavior was not different between those who had a history of childhood abuse and those who did not have. The childhood abuse may comprise of environmental risks factors which determine the development of trait impulsivity and suicide attempts in the depressed adults. There may also be those inherited traits pertaining to impulsivity and aggression and in this case, these traits may underlie both childhood abuse and suicidal behavior in adulthood disorders.

Is there Discrepancy between Parent’s and Children’s Accounts?

Measuring child abuse and neglect is one of the most difficult things to do according to my research findings. Therefore, in this piece or work, I used three sources of information which I believed would give a better picture of the true happenings in the society today concerning the offspring. In reality, most reports about the evidence on child abuse are provided by the very parents and the caregivers. No use of official records. Furthermore, finding such records which are reliable at the same time proves to be a rocket science. In addition to these offspring to the parents also provide us with information (Braquehais et al, 2010). From this research, I established that not many children would be free to give information on whether they have been maltreated in the presence of the parents. The data I collected randomly from children indicated that the majority of them were abused. There existed a discrepancy between the answers provided by the children and those answers from parents. The parents did not report more physical abuse and even sexual abuse but only report neglect among many other possible causes of abuse. The other part of this research design was to have the children in a group who shared similarity with the abused and neglected children in terms of sex, age, race and family social class (Berlin et al, 2011). They composed the comparison group of this research. From this group, it was found that the children who were neglected and abused and the match control category each reported they engaged in maltreatment, even though they did not differ. The expectation was that parents who had histories dipped into neglect and abuse would record more cases of physical and sexual abuse or even neglect. But this was not the case.

The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome

The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome is about the Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) also the Multiple Personality Disorder. This syndrome has been attributed to alternating states in a person’s behavior accompanied by memory impairment. Suppose the parents to child X were not poor role models in how they handled the situations related to anger then it is most likely that the anger problems of the child originate from experiencing neglect and abuse in the childhood. The worst violation a parent can do to the child is neglect and abuse (Engel, 2011). They not only make children angry but also keeping these bad records for future references. Once they are angry, many of them carry this anger with them into adulthood for quite a number of reasons. First and foremost, parents have to consider the fact that most children are unable to express their anger at that tender age perhaps for fear of other abuse and being neglected (Braquehais et al, 2010). The second reason is that this anger is being reignited when they encounter partners or at the time when they will have children. When this scenario approaches them, they re-experience the very feelings and experiences they did in childhood. As a matter of fact, the anger at childhood sticks to their minds as many years as possible. The third reason is that anger is the main avenue for the repeat of the cycle of abuse. Even in today’s world, parents only tend to repeat the way they used to be disciplined by their parents irrespective of the rationale. Little did they know that some of these methods were not disciplinary methods but rather physical abuse. Additionally, they also tend to repeat the way the parents expressed their anger to a further extent, the way the abused other people in the society.

Victims of child abuse always try to reiterate their childhood ordeals which were, in fact, abusive by becoming abusive to others. This is possible due to unconscious form of motivation. Moreover, it happens due to the enragement of abuse victims. Parental abuse attracts angry reactions from the children particularly when done to the child at an age when he can distinguish between good and bad things in the surrounding. This anger is usually triggered whenever they feel ashamed and embarrassed in one way or the other. It also triggered when they are stressed under the influence of drugs or when they think of how they used to be abused (Berlin et al, 2011). If the parents or adults abuse their children, let it be known that they may not retaliate due to fear of abandonment or rejection. But in the real sense, they wait for their adult life when ‘they will have full authority to express their anger. Meanwhile, this anger is usually stored in the unconscious part of the brain and they only express it when an occurrence in their present life triggers this part of the brain. At such a time they are most likely to strike out without warning to those next to them and this usually becomes their children or even parents.

Legacy of Abuse

The high proportion of adults under trouble today faced abuse during their childhood. This assertion only confirms the sad legacy of abuse which has been in existence since the times of creation. Dr. Richard, a professor of pediatrics in the Medical School at the University of Colorado says the current state of affairs in the adults and the fact that most of them are troubled today, is because they were abused while young. The long-term impact of abuse is worsened by certain key factors. These include an abuse that commenced early, an abuse in which the perpetrators had a close relationship if not intimacy with the victims, and the abuse that lasted for a long time. Additionally, an abuse that occurred a cold emotional atmosphere in the family and perceived by the child as harmful are also factors (Cromer & Goldsmith, 2010). There is a quick and frequent response to trauma by the victims of child abuse by living in denial that any abuse that occurred was a view of justified discipline from the adults. The study also shows that if any of the American children are subjected to abuse of some kind, by the time they mature into adulthood, at least a quarter of both the victims across all gender will have experienced episodes of the abuse they faced in childhood. These effects constituted greater psychiatric symptoms with greater abuses. They tend to incline to their children when such orders worsen (Braquehais et al, 2010). They are therefore susceptible to abuse their children as well and the cycle continues unless broken at some point. Reflecting on the history of murder in the United States, in 1986, a study was conducted on 16 adolescents who were facing trials on murder cases found that 14 of them were victims with extreme physical or sexual abuse. A similar study showed that a study of nine women imprisoned for fatal child abuse at one point, it was found that themselves had experienced such maltreatment themselves. This study was a clear indication that in the society, what adults do to their children today may follow even the grandchildren if appropriate measures are not taken.

Caregiver to Caregiver Retaliation

In the in this research, I also considered this claim from the caregiver’s point of view. Most child abuse cases in the United States result from the caregivers who are left to take care of the children while the parents were away. I had a total of ten caregivers from different orphanages, prisons, and homes. Among these caregivers, several cases had been launched against them by parents and these institutions about the alleged child abuses (Braquehais et al, 2010). Five were prisoners at the time of this data collection. Among the prisoners, I collected independent data for the reason for their jailing. Three out of five were jailed for physical abuses and two sexual child cases of abuse. Nine out of ten caregivers were taken care of by the caregivers during childhood and they vividly remember their ordeals with these caregivers. Due to some reason or the other, life took a shift on their side and it was uncontrollable. One would ask, if, at childhood, the parents were rich enough to hire caregivers, how then are they caregivers today? Well, some of their parents and as matter of fact, this was one particular question I always had in mind for them. They say due to the abuses they had during their childhood, the normally developed those bitter feelings triggered by anger (Cromer & Goldsmith, 2010). The say retaliation was the only way now that the parents are no more and very little to care about. This is just one of the many examples out there. As a matter of fact, some of these caregivers are heartless and are only after money.

Challenges and Future Research

This research was accompanied by challenges as usual in most research works. The data used was of small sample size compromising on the quality. Obtaining information from parents who indeed abuse their children was not an easy task. Some did not allow even the children to give information as that would constitute another reason for being maltreated. Obtaining the required financial assistance was an issue since it encompassed a lot of traveling from one home to the other and the prisons. Due to the sample size, the future research on a similar claim will accommodate various groups from across most states in the US. There should the consideration as to why most people who were abused as children and abuse their own children fall mostly in the middle or low-class members of the society? This would constitute the framework for future research.

Conclusion

To conclude this research, I would like to focus on the possible ways of breaking this child abuse cycle. For a better society in the future, we have to find a solution and a blueprint for this problem. For you to stop being abusive to others, there is need to learn the constructive ways of abolishing the old age rage towards the original abusers. We should not censor ourselves for everything we feel. We need to change our ways of dealing with anger and stress. In order to manage anger, we need to recognize that the children and partners are separate from us and therefore, it is fundamental to have separate reactions and opinions about things and our perception towards the future society (Berlin et al, 2011). We need to differentiate the moods we have to possess depending on the circumstances. We also need to realize that we are never in control of anyone else other than ourselves. Even if we were to control other people, psychological, we pay a price of loss of love. As a matter of fact, no slave loved his superiors or masters. Let us avoid making insulting statements to children thinking they may contemplate and contextualize. Let’s avoid being sarcastic all the time because sarcastic remarks are only meant to insult. Thinking about the responses before we utter them is also key to achieving a broken child abuse cycle. If we do the otherwise, then the aggressive recipients will jump into conclusion and act on impulse. When a child is occasionally attacked by blames, this type of a child is likely to take on blaming as a mechanism to shield himself or herself against blames. It forms part of the habits which may be practiced later in the lifetime hence the continuity of an abuse. Therefore, the overall claim is not just a mere myth. Some of the people who were abused as children actually perpetrate the act and abuse their own children too.

References

Berlin, L. J., Appleyard, K., & Dodge, K. A. (2011). Intergenerational continuity in child             maltreatment: Mediating mechanisms and implications for prevention. Child          development, 82(1), 162-176.

Braquehais, M. D., Oquendo, M. A., Baca-García, E., & Sher, L. (2010). Is impulsivity a link       between childhood abuse and suicide?. Comprehensive psychiatry, 51(2), 121-129.Internet       Source

Cromer, L. D., & Goldsmith, R. E. (2010). Child sexual abuse myths: Attitudes, beliefs, and        individual differences. Journal of child sexual abuse, 19(6), 618-647.

Engel, B. (2011). The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome: What to Do If Someone in Your Life Has a Dual             Personality-Or If You Do. John Wiley & Sons.

Internet Source

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: http://www.aacap.org