CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT 2 Child Abuse and Neglect Introduction Child welfare is one of the special areas of practice in social work. It is special in the context in which the principles and values that govern the social work profession align with policies that guide child welfare organizations. Child abuse is one of the major universal social problems that impact children from all types and levels of society. Child abuse can have a significant impact on the child's personality growth. More so, it can affect the child's adult behavior in later life. Therefore, it the role of the social workers to study the causes of abuse and treatment. Underlaying the efforts is the belief that all societies are responsible for creating an abuse-free society (Zeanah & Humphreys, 2018). This study aims to evaluate factors related to childhood abuse and neglect and social workers' role in alleviating the problem. Nature and scope of child abuse and neglect Child abuse is a devastating social problem in society. While the legal definition of child abuse and neglect may vary across different states, there are four recognized classifications of child abuse and neglect. They are sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, and neglect. They neglect medical, educational, and other forms of neglect. Almost 700 000 children are abused every year in the United States. That is about 1 percent of the total number of kids. In 2019, it was estimated that 1770 children in the United States died because of child abuse and neglect. However, the data is incomplete because there are likely to be a lot of unreported cases (Krugman & Poland, 2019). The most prone victims of abuse and neglect are the youngest children. That is children who are in the first year of their life. WWW points out that in 2019 children of 3 years and below experienced a mistreatment rate of 16 per 1000. For children aged 4 to 7 years, the mistreatment rate was 12 per 1000 population. For 8 to 11 years, the mistreatment rate was at 8 per 1000 population. The mistreatment rate goes on decreasing as the children age up. It is the responsibility of child welfare authorities to ensures the safety of children in the country. Historical Background For a long time, children have been considered as the property of their parents. Therefore, this notion assumes that parents hold the power of life and death over their children. Throughout history, there have been social provisions that seek to protect orphans and the abandoned children from abuse and neglect. The provisions covered only the orphans and the disabled. However. It is in the last 150 years that the state has made efforts to protect the rights of children by overriding the rights of parents. That means that during the era of the industrial revolution and the invention and introduction of compulsory education attendan ...

1. CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
2
Child Abuse and Neglect
Introduction
Child welfare is one of the special areas of practice in social
work. It is special in the context in which the principles and
values that govern the social work profession align with policies
that guide child welfare organizations. Child abuse is one of the
major universal social problems that impact children from all
types and levels of society. Child abuse can have a significant
impact on the child's personality growth. More so, it can affect
the child's adult behavior in later life. Therefore, it the role of
the social workers to study the causes of abuse and treatment.
Underlaying the efforts is the belief that all societies are
responsible for creating an abuse-free society (Zeanah &

2. Humphreys, 2018). This study aims to evaluate factors related
to childhood abuse and neglect and social workers' role in
alleviating the problem.
Nature and scope of child abuse and neglect
Child abuse is a devastating social problem in society.
While the legal definition of child abuse and neglect may vary
across different states, there are four recognized classifications
of child abuse and neglect. They are sexual abuse, physical
abuse, emotional maltreatment, and neglect. They neglect
medical, educational, and other forms of neglect. Almost 700
000 children are abused every year in the United States. That is
about 1 percent of the total number of kids. In 2019, it was
estimated that 1770 children in the United States died because
of child abuse and neglect. However, the data is incomplete
because there are likely to be a lot of unreported cases
(Krugman & Poland, 2019). The most prone victims of abuse
and neglect are the youngest children. That is children who are
in the first year of their life. WWW points out that in 2019
children of 3 years and below experienced a mistreatment rate
of 16 per 1000. For children aged 4 to 7 years, the mistreatment
rate was 12 per 1000 population. For 8 to 11 years, the
mistreatment rate was at 8 per 1000 population. The
mistreatment rate goes on decreasing as the children age up. It
is the responsibility of child welfare authorities to ensures the
safety of children in the country.
Historical Background
For a long time, children have been considered as the
property of their parents. Therefore, this notion assumes that
parents hold the power of life and death over their children.
Throughout history, there have been social provisions that seek
to protect orphans and the abandoned children from abuse and
neglect. The provisions covered only the orphans and the
disabled. However. It is in the last 150 years that the state has
made efforts to protect the rights of children by overriding the
rights of parents. That means that during the era of the
industrial revolution and the invention and introduction of

3. compulsory education attendance, most children from the age of
10 years and above led their lives not far similar to that of
adults. However, even though things have changed in the
modern generation, there remains a contest between children's
rights and parental rights in children's welfare (Wright, 2017).
McGuigan et al., 2018, points out that while working on
the topic of child abuse and neglect, it is important to consider
cultural issues because some cultures have high tolerant levels
than others. Different cultures have a varied age of adulthood,
sexual maturity, and engaging in activities that can be
considered a crime. Different cultures discipline their children
in different ways. There is some culture in which the form of
discipline is more severe than in other cultures.
Contextual and Societal factors that influence child abuse and
neglect
Metcalfe et al., 2019, points out that there are varied
models that focus on addressing the etiology of child
mistreatment. However, there has been no enough empirical
evidence to validate the commonly held belief that parental
personality traits or psychopathology factors such as illness
contribute to child abuse and neglect. However, there are
several factors that have been a link to child maltreatmen t. Hoft
and Haddad, 2017, point out that most maltreating parents are
socially isolated. Social isolation is often characterized by a
lack of poor social skills. Thus, social isolation leads to
stressful moments that eventually generate alternative means to
fill the gap. Violence is one of the means.
Hoft and Haddad, 2017, point out that poverty is a
strong factor that is associated with child neglect. However, it
is important to note that poverty does not equate to child
neglect. It does not mean that parents lack the capacity to love
and care for their children because they are poor. However,
poverty restrains parents from meeting some of their children's
needs. Studies show that children from a family earning $

4. 25,000 in 2020 were 15 times more likely to experience varied
forms of neglect than children from families earning $ 35 000
and above. This indicates that poverty has a strong correlation
with child neglect.
Wright, 2017, points out that dissatisfaction with the
role of parenting is another factor that is related to child abuse.
The presented evidence argues that maltreating parents are non-
accommodative to their children's behavior. They usually
perceive a sense of hostility in their children's behavior, unlike
so non-maltreating parents. More so, maltreating parents tend to
find parenting less enjoyable and difficult than non-maltreating
parents.
Researching child mistreatment is important because the study
provides scientific information that can be utilized to solve a l ot
of individual and societal disorders. Child abuse and neglect
precipitate problems such as poor academic performance,
depression, deviant sexual behaviors, delinquency, etc. Second,
the research is important because it provides insights and
knowledge on how to help the victims of child abuse and
neglect. Third, the research serves to reduce long-term
economic costs directed in treating the effects of child abuse
and neglect, such as mental issues and violence cases. Fourth,
the research presents empirical evidence that can be utilized to
improve the quality of service in legal and child welfare
organizations. Child welfare advocates, social service
personnel, judges, etc., make a lot of decisions entailing child
abuse and neglect. It is by making informed decisions that there
can be effective in improving outcomes of cases related to child
abuse. Lastly, it is by studying the etiology of child abuse and
mistreatment that a scientific-based program to prevent the
incidence can be established (Bartlett et al., 2017). The program
will serve to counteract factors that breed child abuse and
neglect in coming generations.
The role of social workers
What is the role of social workers in addressing child abuse and
neglect? Social workers make a professional taskforce

5. responsible for offering therapeutical programs to the victims of
abuse and their families. More so, they also work together with
the perpetrators and their families. They serve in conducting a
clinical evaluation of the victims by utilizing diagnostic
measures. Also, the conduct forensic investigations of the cause
of abuse and evaluate the patterns of abuse. It is by doing so
that they are able to detect the likelihood of the reoccurrence of
abuse and neglect from serious perpetrators. The identification
of such patterns is hugely important because it helps in putting
in the right measures before the next incidence could occur.
The other role is to make reports to parents, schools, courts, and
child protection agencies so that better measures and poli cies
can be implemented to curb the issue. Lastly, they offer
counseling and psychosocial therapy to individuals, families,
and groups involved in child abuse and neglect cases
(McGuigan et., 2018).
Conclusion
Child abuse and neglect is a serious problem in the society.
People have shifted from rural to urban life, where it is more
sophisticated to track instances of child abuse and neglect.
Improved mechanisms and strategies need to be put in place to
match the sophistication and ensure that our society is free from
child abuse and neglect.

6. Reference
Bartlett, J. D., Kotake, C., Fauth, R., & Easterbrooks, M. A.
(2017). Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and
neglect: Do maltreatment type, perpetrator, and substantiation
status matter? Child abuse & neglect, 63, 84-94.
Hoft, M., & Haddad, L. (2017). Screening children for abuse
and neglect: A review of the literature. Journal of forensic
nursing, 13(1), 26-34.
Krugman, R. D., & Poland, L. (2019). Disrupting social norms:
Eliminating child abuse and neglect in our lifetime. Child and
adolescent social work journal, 36(1), 15-17.
McGuigan, W. M., Luchette, J. A., & Atterholt, R. (2018).
Physical neglect in childhood as a predictor of violent behavior
in adolescent males. Child Abuse & Neglect, 79, 395-400.
Metcalfe, R. E., Guidinger, C. L., & Stormshak, E. A. (2021).
The Family Check-Up: Ecological Family-Based Assessments in
the Context of Potential Child Abuse or Chaotic Home
Environments. Journal of Health Service Psychology, 1-13.
Wright, K. (2017). Remaking collective knowledge: An analysis
of the complex and multiple effects of inquiries into historical
institutional child abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 74, 10-22.
Zeanah, C. H., & Humphreys, K. L. (2018). Child abuse and
neglect. Journal of the American Academy of Child &
Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(9), 637-644.
Running head: IS POVERTY A PREDICTOR OF CHILD
ABUSE?
1
IS POVERTY A PREDICTOR OF CHILD ABUSE?
2

7. Is Poverty A Predictor of Child Abuse?
Child Abuse
Introduction
The World Health Organization estimates that almost three in
four children-or 300 million children aged 2–4 years are
routinely subjected to physical violence and psychological
harassment at the hands of either their parents or caregi vers.
The organization adds that one in five women and one in 13
men reported having been sexually assaulted as a child aged 0-

8. 17. There are now around 120 million girls and young women
below 20 who have had unwanted sexual intercourse. It is also
estimated that 40 to150 deaths per year are recorded in children
under 18 years of age, some of which are believed to be
attributed to child maltreatment. This figure almost definitely
underestimates the true magnitude of the epidemic, as a large
proportion of child abuse fatalities are wrongly attributed to
slips, fires, and drowning. Effects of childhood maltreatment
include compromised lifetime physical and mental wellbeing,
and social and workplace implications will potentially slow
down economic and social growth in the nation. A mistreated
child is far more inclined to harass people as an adult. Such
aggression is carried on across one generation to the next
(WHO, 2020).
Child abuse is the exploitation and neglect of children under the
age of 18. It encompasses all types of physical and emotional
ill-treatment, sexual abuse, negligence, mismanagement, and
commercial or other violence that result in severe or potential
harm to the individual's wellbeing, wellbeing, survival,
development, or integrity of the child in the context of care,
confidence, or power. Preventing childhood maltreatment before
it begins is feasible and requires a multi-pectoral solution.
Practical prevention approaches include helping parents and
teaching healthy parenting habits and strengthening laws that
prohibit coercive punishment. Continuing caring for children
and families can reduce the possibility of repeated maltreatment
and decrease the occurrence of maltreatment (WHO, 2020).
Types of Child Abuse
Neglect
Neglect is the most prevalent type of recorded neglect and the
most common cause of death for neglected children. The Office
for Child Abuse and Neglect characterized neglect as failure to
meet the child's fundamental physical, social, educational, and
cognitive or medical needs. Physical negligence is the inability

9. to provide sufficient food, clothes, shelter, sanitation, safety, or
supervision. Failure to provide caring, comfort, empathy, social
assistance, or treatment when appropriate is emotional
negligence. Medical negligence is a pause in or failure to obtain
medical attention, resulting in harm to the infant's wellbeing
(McDonald, 2007).
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse outcomes in identifiable damages, such as
disrupted psychological growth and infant development. Several
subtypes of emotional violence include alienation, loneliness,
terror, denial, psychological disponible, exploitation, and the
child's inadequate desires or demands. Behavioral patterns that
may raise concerns about the risk of emotional violence include
social isolation, extreme frustration, or hostility, eating
disorders, inability to succeed, developmental delay, and
emotional disruptions. In certain places, the vulnerability to
intimate partner abuse at home has also been deemed a cause of
emotional damage to the child (McDonald, 2007).
Physical Abuse
Child physical assault is a child's non-accidental disability.
Many jurisdictions apply other criteria to the legal description,
such as the age of the abuser and the severity of the injuries.
Injuries cause cuts and bruises, blunt force trauma, fracturing,
head injuries, trembling, burns, and poisoning. Data on the
frequency of child physical abuse (CPA) in the United States
was collected from child protection agencies and nationwide
surveys. These statistics show that almost 3 million children
remain exploited and abandoned last year. Approximately 25%
of those identified for suspected assault are prosecuted for
physical abuse. The National Center on Child Abuse and
Neglect (NCCAN) published a series of National Incidence
Studies on Child Abuse and Neglected by assessing clinical
monitoring standards. They observed that about 2.3/1000
children were physically assaulted. The 1995 Gallup poll
approximated the CPA rate to be 49/1000 children, more than

10. five times the NCCAN survey (Swenson, 2007).
Sexual abuse
Child sexual assault is characterized both scientifically and
legally. Legally, child welfare and criminal legislation are in
place. Federal child welfare legislation recognizes sexual
harassment and exploitation to be a subsection of child abuse.
Sexual assault can be defined as the work, use, manipulation,
incitement, enticement, or intimidation of any child to
participate in or assist any other person to engage in any
sexually explicit activity or imitatio n of such behavior to create
a visual representation of such conduct; or rape, harassment,
adultery, or other means of sexual exploitation of children or
incest with children (McDonald, 2007).
Effects of Child Abuse
Children may experience a range of emotional, psychological,
and physical problems as a result of being harmed. These
include low self-esteem, increased fear, guilt and self-blame,
and distrust of adults. Children may also suffer from eating
disorders, physical injuries, and death problems. Children
subjected to violence and neglect are more likely to experience
unsafe or disorganized attachment issues with their primary
caregiver. Insecure attachments change the usual child
development process. They can seriously impair a child's ability
to connect and interact with others. Child abuse is associated
with problematic peer relationships in childhood and
adolescence. Strong partnerships have also been established
between child maltreatment and learning disabilities, and low
academic performance. Abuse and neglect in early life can
significantly impact the developmental capacity of children,
especially in crucial areas of speech and speech. Maltreated
children have less educational attainment than other classes of
children (CFCA, 2014).
Treatment

11. Treatment of child abuse and neglect depends on the extent of
the abuse. Priority is given to providing a secure atmosphere for
the child, including calling social workers or law enforcement
agencies so that the child can be transported to a secure location
where they feel safe. Once the infant is healthy, mental health
providers and the psychiatrist can find a suitable treatment
form. Therapy can help children understand their thoughts and
emotions to learn how to deal with the consequences of
violence. There are various forms of counseling available.
Developmental therapy, to begin with, is a form of therapy that
deals with how the infant develops and how the growth has been
altered or blocked by trauma. Interpersonal therapy is a form of
therapy that relates to how trauma has affected the infant's
relationship. Also, cognitive, and behavioral therapy deals with
how battered children's emotions and thoughts have affected
their behavior.
Treatment activities can also concentrate on stopping child
abuse and neglect from recurring. Federal, state, and municipal
governments will assist with these efforts. Helping parents and
children build closer relationships and informing parents of
effective parenting strategies. They will also help by teaching
parents to be emotionally supportive and assist those who may
suffer. They can also help to build closer relationships and
mutual ties. It is also imperative to teach children how to have
more vital social and emotional skills.
Solution
s
Raise Awareness by Educating people about the realities of
domestic abuse and violence. It can be done in workplaces,

12. churches, schools, Adverts on social media, or Campaigns
organized by Civil Society group and Governments. That helps
to pass knowledge on Child Abuse, and Those Educated will be
Advocates of Fighting Child Abuses. Documentation is also
crucial. If one suspects child abuse being administered to a
child, one should document what they see, location, date, and
time. The benefits of filing a report to the relevant authori ties.
Documentation should be done in a non-biased manner and be
factual hence helping to protect a child. One should try to
understand His/her child and learn how children behave and
what they can do at different ages. One should have a realistic
expectation and reasonable if a child fell short (CDC, 2020).
It is also critical to choose the words that we tell children.
Punishing or Angry language can leave profound emotional
scars in a child for a lifetime and affect them mentally. Taking a
Time Out byStopping if you begin to act out frustrations or
other emotions physically. Try finding some help from someone
or calling a Child Abuse Prevention hotline if you are worried
about causing harm to your child. Parents need to support
Children. Children are great imitators. They frequently model
what they learn and experience from the adults in their lives. A
child's most significant role model is often the parent; hence,
they may imitate what they see or hear what their parents are
doing to say in their adult life with their spouses or partners,
hence needing counseling, support, and service to children

13. (CDC, 2020).
Recommendations
Social attitudes must change as we teach children about dangers
they may face. Parents and other family members can help
reduce child abuse by giving children space to talk freely. Law
should be stringent and strict about child abuse, and
Governments, NGOs, and international organizations can work
together to understand the context of abuse, identify signs of
abuse, and provide sensitive and emphatic care. Creation of a
suitable environment for children to live freely. Awareness at
various levels starting from the family to schools, and Parents
should make a positive environment where they can understand
their children and discuss problems without any hesitation.
Conclusion
A child is an individual who is 18 years and below. Child abuse
has been a persistent problem that is experienced not only
locally but also globally. Child abuse is the exploitation and
neglect of children under the age of 18. It encompasses all types
of physical and emotional ill-treatment and sexual abuse. The
management of child abuse can be complicated and often

14. require a multidisciplinary approach. Counseling services for
the child and the caregivers should form part of the management
regime. Therapy can help children understand their thoughts and
emotions to learn how to deal with the consequences of
violence. Identifying child abuse cases earlier helps ensure that
children do not grow up to mistreat other people since they were
raised in an environment that majorly consisted of violence.
References
Child abuse and neglect treatment | Pediatrics. (2018).
Retrieved from

15. https://intermountainhealthcare.org/services/pediatrics/services/
child-protection-and-family-health/child-abuse-and-neglect-
treatment/
Child Family Community Australia. (2014). Effects of child
abuse and neglect for children and adolescents. Retrieved from
https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/effects-child-abuse-and-
neglect-children-and-adolescents
McDonald, K. C. (2007, January). Child abuse: Approach and
management. Retrieved from
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2007/0115/p221.html
Swenson, C. C. (2007). Encyclopedia of stress (2nd ed.).
Academic Press.
World Health Organization. (2020). Child maltreatment.
Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-
sheets/detail/child-maltreatment