About Abuse, Child (Child Abuse Facts)
Learn about the disease, illness and/or condition Abuse, Child (Child Abuse Facts) including: symptoms, causes, treatments, contraindications and conditions at ClusterMed.info.
Abuse, Child (Child Abuse Facts)
Abuse, Child (Child Abuse Facts) |
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Abuse, Child (Child Abuse Facts) InformationChild abuse facts
How do physicians diagnose child abuse?Many health-care professionals may help make the diagnosis of child abuse, including licensed mental-health therapists, pediatricians, other primary-care providers, specialists whom you see for a medical condition, emergency physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and social workers. One of these professionals will likely perform or refer for an extensive medical interview and physical examination as part of establishing the diagnosis. Child abuse may be associated with a number of other medical conditions, so routine laboratory tests are often performed during the initial evaluation to rule out other causes of symptoms. Occasionally, an X-ray, scan, or other imaging study may be needed, particularly if physical abuse is suspected. As part of this examination, the sufferer may be asked a series of questions from a standardized questionnaire or self-test to help assess the occurrence of child abuse. Thorough exploration for any history or presence of mental-health symptoms will be conducted such that child maltreatment can be distinguished from other sources of emotional problems. Is it possible to prevent child abuse?There are primary, secondary, and tertiary ways of preventing child abuse. Primary intervention involves awareness training for professionals who work with children, policy makers for children's issues, and for the general public. Secondary prevention programs work to alleviate the risk factors that make vulnerable children at risk for abuse. Tertiary prevention programs work with families in which abuse has already occurred in an attempt to decrease the effects of the abuse and to prevent it from occurring again.Attempts at secondary and tertiary prevention of child abuse tend to address the risk factors and strengthen protective factors. Such programs often use approaches that strengthen parenting skills and supports, as well as enhance the ability for the caretaker to provide for the needs of the child. The inverse of most risk factors, protective factors for child abuse include having the involvement of supportive family, strengthening family and peer relationships, developing healthy coping skills, and improving individual emotional regulation. What are risk factors for child abuse?The risk factors for child abuse include issues that pertain to the victim, perpetrator, family, and community situations. Children under 4 years of age and those with special physical, developmental, or mental-health needs are at higher risk for being victims of maltreatment. Younger caregivers who have had child-abuse, mental-health, or drug problems in their family of origin are more at risk for abusing children. Also, adults who have trouble understanding the needs of children and appropriate parenting skills, as well as those who are single parents, of low socioeconomic status, or have transient other adult caregivers (like the parent's friend, boyfriend, or girlfriend) in the home are also more at risk of becoming child abusers.Family risk factors for child maltreatment include social isolation, fragmentation, or parents who are stressed, engaging in domestic violence, or the presence of poor parent-child relationships. Community issues that increase the likelihood that child abuse occurs include low community socioeconomic status, high unemployment rates, high availability of alcohol or other drugs (for example, alcohol through liquor stores or bars), and poor community social connections. What are symptoms and signs of child abuse?Children who are victims of abuse often experience symptoms of stress in reaction to the abuse, in addition to symptoms that are specific to the kind of abuse they have suffered. The signs and symptoms of abuse often vary according to the age and developmental stage of the child. It is also important to understand that victims of child abuse are often abused in more than one way, so the child may demonstrate symptoms consistent with more than one kind of maltreatment. Examples of less specific signs and symptoms of child abuse include
What are the complications and prognosis of child abuse?Children who are subjected to maltreatment are at risk for a variety of physical and emotional problems, often depending on their age. Physically, children can suffer from brain injury, including mental retardation, concussions, seizures, and death. Behaviorally and emotionally, children may develop a myriad of problems, including depression, anxiety, trouble bonding with others, and issues with controlling their anger.Adults who were the victims of child abuse are at higher risk for a variety of emotional and physical problems, as well as for economic problems. The most common physical problems are neurological and musculoskeletal problems, followed by respiratory, heart, and gastrointestinal ailments. Compared to adults with no history of child-abuse victimization, those who were abused as children are at risk for achieving lower levels of education, employment, income, and assets. Those risks are apparently even greater for women compared to men. Adult survivors of abuse are also at higher risk of incarceration and for family violence occurring in their own homes. What are the different types of child abuse?The most common types of child maltreatment are neglect, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse:
What is child abuse?Child abuse is any injury that is intentionally inflicted on a child by a caregiver or during discipline. While the caregiver is usually an adult, most often the mother of the child, it can also include teenagers who are in the caregiving role, like a babysitter or a camp counselor. It is important to understand that child abuse must involve injury, whether physical or emotional, visible or not immediately visible. So while most child-care professionals (for example, psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians, and teachers) do not recommend the use of corporal punishment due to the risk of emotional damage and accidental physical injury, spanking a child does not automatically constitute child abuse unless the child sustains some kind of injury.Many children worldwide suffer abuse every year, affecting all educational and socioeconomic levels, ethnicities, cultures, and religions. The most common form of child abuse in the United States is being left at home alone without adult supervision, also called supervision neglect. All forms of neglect account for about 75% of the child-abuse reports made to child welfare authorities. Other common forms of child abuse include physical assault, physical neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual assault that involves physical contact.Child abuse has far-reaching negative effects on its victims and on society. Survivors of child maltreatment are at greater risk for physical, emotional, work, and relationship problems throughout childhood and into adulthood. What is the treatment for child abuse?The treatment for child abuse involves first securing the safety of the child from further abuse and addressing any physical injuries from which the child may be suffering. As these interventions are occurring, child-welfare services work with law enforcement in assessing the safety of the child in the home, whether or not the child should be removed from that home and the potential need for further legal involvement as a result of the abuse allegations. When it is determined that sexual abuse has occurred, the perpetrator of the abuse is usually required to have their name included on a sexual offenders' registry, which will prevent them from working in settings that involve children and may impose legal penalties if the offender has any contact with people under 18 years of age.Medical interventions may involve addressing a variety of issues, like treating broken bones, concussion, or other head injury associated with physical abuse, genital injuries, or sexually transmitted disease that may result from sexual abuse.Addressing the emotional impact of child abuse on the victim is an important part of treatment of child maltreatment. The mental health of the child is usually assessed, either through screening questions or tests by the pediatrician or through a full mental-health assessment by a mental-health professional. If it is determined that the child is suffering from a mental-health condition, it will be treated through individual or group therapy, as well as medication treatment when appropriate.Family oriented interventions for child abuse may involve providing the caretaker with classes on anger management to help them develop healthy ways to manage their anger, parenting classes as a means of improving their knowledge and implementation of parenting approaches that are appropriate for the child's age, developmental level, medical, mental, and emotional needs. Family interventions may also involve the use of a parent mentor to provide the caretaker with a role model from whom they can learn appropriate parenting skills. Family therapy involves family members meeting with a therapist and may be used to process and resolve family issues. What should people do if they suspect that a child is being abused?If it is suspected that a child is being abused, laws in most of the United States require that a professional that is in the role of caring for the child (for example, a teacher, doctor, or daycare provider) make a formal report of the abuse to child-welfare authorities in the state in which it is suspected to have occurred. Those professionals are often called mandated reporters. Both for those professionals and for people who are not mandated reporters, child-abuse reporting hotlines are available in every state in the United States. Where can people find more information about child abuse?American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children350 Poplar AvenueElmhurst, IL 60126877-402 7722http://www.apsac.orgChild Abuse Prevention Association503 E. 23rd StreetIndependence, M0 64055Phone: 816-252-8388Fax: 816-252-1337http://www.childabuseprevention.orgChildhelpPhone: 800-4-A-CHILD (800-422-4453)People they help: child-abuse victims, parents, concerned individualsChild Welfare Information GatewayChildren's Bureau/ACYF1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, Eighth FloorWashington, DC 20024800-394-3366http://www.childwelfare.govDarkness to LightPhone: 866-FOR-LIGHT (866-367-5444)People they help: children and adults needing local information or resources about sexual abuseRape, Abuse, and Incest National Network2000 L St., NW, Suite 406Washington, DC 20036800-656-HOPEhttp://www.rainn.org |
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