Child Abuse & Neglect Flashcards
• Definition of neglect
o Is the continued failure by a p/cg to provide a child with the basic things needed for his/her proper growth and development, such as food, clothing, shelter, medical and dental care and adequate supervision
• Definition of Physical abuse
o Non-accidental injury or pattern of injuries to a child by a p or cg or any other person
o Includes but is not limited to injuries which are caused by excessive discipline, severe beatings or shakings, cig burns, attempted strangulation and fem gen mutilation
o Include bruising, lacerations or welts, burns, fractures or dislocation of joints
o Hitting a child around the head or neck and or using a stick belt or object to discipline or punish a child is a crime
• Definition of Psychological abuse or harm
o Serious psychological harm can occur where the behaviour of their p or cg damages the confidence and self-esteem of the child or yp, resulting in serious emotional deprivation or trauma
o This can include a range of behaviours such as excessive criticism, withholding affection, exposure to dv, intimidation or threatening behaviour
• Prevalence of child abuse
o # of reports started at less than 1,000 reports in mid-80’s.
o 215, 000 reports in 2010/11
o Reported issues
DV, Neglect, physical abuse, Drug use by carer, Emotional abuse, Carer mental health, Sexual abuse, Carer other issues, Runaway child, Drug use by child or yp, Child inappropriate sexual behaviour, Suicide risk for child
o Outcomes most severe in 1st year of life
o Some believe that serious abuse is rising because of increased use of illegal drugs, greater poverty, increased violence, disintegration of communities
o Indigenous children over-reported 14% vs 2% of population
• Models for explaining child abuse?
o Psychiatric model
A result of mental health problems. Attempts to identify and treat this have been unsuccessful
o Sociological model
Social environment
o Interactive model
Modern psychologists use a more integrated approach
• Who are abusers?
o No ‘abusive personality syndrome’ has been discovered
o Alcohol and drugs are risk factors
o Many abusive are emotionally insecure and attributed their child’s irritability and independence to their children being disrespectful and rejecting of them
o Favour authoritarian parenting styles and severe punitive tactics (pulling hair, hitting in the face, hitting with objects)
o Often they are highly stressed young parents
o Often lack of social support
• Social factors linked to child abuse
Families under stress (e.g. drought)
Loss of a job
Low marital satisfaction
• High-risk neighbourhoods
o Families are poor, transient, socially isolated, few community services, and informal supports (parent groups, family).
o Parent to child ratio is low
• Cultural factors linked to abuse
o More abuse in the USA because of permissive attitudes to violence and to sanctioning of physical punishment
o Abuse is lower in Scandinavian countries where corporal punishment has been outlawed
• Consequences of abuse for victims are a function of a number of factors
o 1. Nature of the abusive act (e.g. hitting) as well as its frequency, intensity, and duration
o 2. Individual characteristics of the victim (e.g. age, self-blame)
o 3. The nature of the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator (e.g. spouse, step-parent)
o 4. Other factors that may exacerbate its effects e.g. family chaos
• Types of outcomes of child abuse
o Physical injuries
o Psychological consequences
o Acute and posttraumatic stress disorders – increases with severity and co-morbidity
o Subtle psychological effects of victims – risk of cyclical transmission
o Process of adaption (unfolds over time) – developmental complications
o Practical consequences - foster care
• Effects: Physical Abuse
o Aggression
o Low self-esteem and self-blame (deserved the treatment)
o Lower empathy
o Information processing biases – hostile intent
o Attachment patterns are disrupted
o Long term effects – later family violence (internalising/externalising problems)
o Deficits in cognitive performance
o Emotional regulation difficulties
o Peer rejection
• Effects of Neglect
o Socially withdrawn, aggressive (although not to the same extent as children who are physically abused), IQ deficits, risk of delinquency, lack of secure attachments, poor impulse control, mothers inattention leads to passivity and withdrawing behaviour, or random, undisciplined activity
• Effects of Psychological maltreatment
o Withdrawal, low SE, delinquency, reduced emotional responsiveness, but also aggression, inability to become independent or to trust others underachievement
• Percentage of abused children that go onto abuse their own children
o 30%
• Early intervention aims
o 1. Enhancing educational readiness
o 2. Improving child health
o 3. Supporting parents
• Home visitor programs for parents living in difficult circumstances. Such programs assist:
o material needs (e.g. cribs, child-care)
o psychological needs (e.g. parenting education and support)
o educational needs (e.g. job skills)
o improve general family well-being and reduce child mistreatment
• Prenatal and Infancy Home Visitors Program - Targets low-income, teens and single-parent mothers pregnant with their first child
o Results showed that home-visited mothers had fewer and less serious child protection service reports, had fewer subsequent births, spent fewer months on welfare, had fewer arrests and were less likely to abuse substances in comparison to control families
• Early Head Start
o USA program that started in 1995 for low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers.
o Children in the program for 3 years performed better than control children on cognitive and language tests, greater emotional engagement and more sustained attention with play objects, and lower aggression.
o Parents in the program provided more language and learning stimulations, read to their children more, and spanked their children less than control groups mothers
o Results were strongest for programs that offered a mix of home-visiting and centre-based services
• Behavioural Family Interventions – Conclusions
o Variants of the BFI are suitable for reducing disruptive behaviour in young children with early onset behaviour problems
o The enhanced condition produced the most consistent short-term effects
o EBFI (enhanced) yielded benefits on all five child outcome measures as indicated by mothers’ and fathers’ reports, as well as direct observation. SDBFI (self-directed) showed significant effects only on the parent-report measure
o Parental adjustment did not change – nor for negative affect, conflict over parenting, relationship adjustment (much easier to change the child than the parent) – suggested enhanced programs that target parents’ distress might not be useful
o A concern that there was a high attrition rate among families with more severe child behaviour problems and higher levels of maternal depression and marital conflict
