Impact Of Child Abuse And Neglect
As per the records of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there were 905,000 number of children subjected to child abuse and neglect in 2006. Apart from the immediate visualization of the effect of child abuse and neglect, this inhuman act can manifest itself to affect even the coming generations of the abused.
The bearing of child abuse and neglect can be subdivided into the heads of physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences. Although, the forms of impact have been categorized, there seems to be constant overlapping between the same. There can be no clear differentiation since one variant of impact invariable casts an effect on the other.
The physical impact of abuse and neglect could either be evident in minor forms of bruises and cuts or in brutal forms such as fractures, hemorrhage, or even death. Research highlights the possibility of certain gradual and long term effects on the body as well. Some of them include shaken baby syndrome leading to bleeding in the eye or brain, causing injury to the neck and spinal cord, and fractures in ribs or other bones; impaired brain development; and high rate of physical ailments in the latter years of life like allergies, arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, elevated blood pressure and stomach ulcers.
The psychological impact includes aspects such as isolation, withdrawal symptoms, fear, lack of trust, aggression, low self esteem, depression and inclination towards antisocial activities.
The behavioral impacts are evident in forms of mental disorders, turning into juvenile delinquents and then becoming criminals when they become adults, being low achievers in school, getting into teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, and the tendency to abuse their children in future.
Not only the immediate family but society also suffers the impact of abuse and neglect. The society as a whole incurs the financial pressures of maintaining welfare systems linked to identify and rectify child abuse and neglect. Ultimately all the above factors result in lack of productivity which eventually affects the economy as a whole.
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