Family Violence Flashcards
Any non-accidental harm that is done to a person under the age of 18, whether done by the person’s parents, a relative, a guardian, caretaker, or complete stranger. Generally, this refers to harmful acts of commission or omission by the parent or caretaker.
Child’s physical abuse
Acts of omission on a child
Neglect
- Under age 6 (Most vulnerable to abuse)
- Under age 12, boys are most frequent victims
- Over age 12, girls are most frequent victim
- Abuse children are more likely to be mentally retarde
- abused children are more likely to have physical deformities and handicaps
- Abused children are more likely to have medical illnesses
- Are more likely to have delays in speech, motor, and social development
- Premature and difficult births are often linked to child-abuse
- Abused children to be overly attached to their abusing mothers
Characteristics of abused children
- 5% of abusing parents suffer from psychopathology
- Poor impulse control
- low frustration tolerance
- Low self-esteem
- Emotionally immature
- Violent impulses
- Chronic aggression
- Chronically depressed
- Lower socioeconomic status(Although, higher Sitio economic status groups may conceal the abuse by using private practitioners who are less likely to report
- Impoverished
- Nonwhites(Maybe because nonwhite children are taking to public agencies who report abuse)
- Mothers are more likely to be a users
- Abusive parents tend to be young between 20 to 30
- Have few social relationships outside of home
- often were abused themselves
- Have unrealistic expectations of their children
Characteristics of abusing parents
-Subject to severe and frequent stress
-Tend to have frequent marital conflicts
-Child-abuse can be understood from a family systems theory:
Child-abuse is a homeostatic device. The abusive family is usually a symbiotic family system in which husband and wife turned to a child for love and support. The child becomes the target when he or she is unable to fill the needs of the parents. The abusive family is usually a closed family system that is rigid, inflexible, authoritarian, and socially isolated. The abused child is often scapegoated. Abusive families are typically disorganized. The parents lack the basic qualities of parenting like leadership, guidance, and control.
Characteristics of child abusing family
Sexual activity between an adult or much older person and child, the abuse is best understood as an abuse of power because physical force is seldom used. Sexual abuse is probably more widespread than reports indicate. Research indicates that one out of every four females are victims of sexual abuse before age 18. Recent research indicates the boys are abused for more often than reporting suggest.
- 75% to 85% of abusers were known to the children
- 50% of abuse occurs within the family
- The majority of abuse report that they are heterosexual in their adult sexual orientation (Even when the victims have been of the same sex)
- The majority of sexual abusers our men
Child sexual abuse
Defined as any sexual activity/intimate physical contact that is sexually arousing that occurs between nonmarried members of the family, it includes a variety of sexual activities ranging from fondling to intercourse.
- 70% of incest is father – daughter
- The abusers Non- sexual need for belongingness, power, or affection is usually the precipitating factors in abuse.
- Incestuous families are similar to physically abusive families in that they are turning to their child to meet their needs
Incest
This may involve spiritual, verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Women are typically the victims, although, abused men do exist. Half of the couples in the United States engaged in abuse when physical violence only are considered. The cycle of spousal violence as outlined by Lenore Walker is as follows:
- Tension building (The battered spouse walks on eggshells to prevent being battered)
- acute battering(Maybe a physical assault, a verbal assault, etc. The battered spouse cannot predict or control and acute battering incident)
- Honeymoon phase(After the battering, the batter is loving and remorseful)
Spouse abuse
- Psychological disturbances present
- Alcoholic(Linked with between 40% and 95% of cases depending on the researchers)
- Mentally incompetent
- Extremely jealous
Characteristics of the batterer
- One out of four has attempted suicide
- One out of seven of abuse alcohol
- One out of 10 abuse drugs
- Maybe pregnant
- Economic and emotional reasons are most often cited as reasons that abused spouses stay in the relationship
Characteristics of an abused spouse
