Introduction
Child abuse is a serious sociological problem. Globally, child abuse is an issue that draws attention to everyone. The types of child abuse include physical, sexual, psychological, and neglect. Various researchers have conducted studies on the devastating effects of child abuse to enable people to understand the severity of the issue. Besides that, evidence-based services and child welfare services have played a significant role in helping to combat and spreading awareness on the adverse impacts of child abuse. Undoubtedly, abuse can have long-term effects on a child. Families and communities need to be proactive to ensure that they curb child abuse. Most importantly, policymakers need to develop stricter policies to ensure that they support the uniqueness of every child and protect them from abuse. The purpose of the paper is to provide information about the sociological causes of child abuse, its consequences, and potential solutions. Individuals need to know that child abuse is a serious hazard to a child’s healthy growth and development.
Sociological Causes of Child Abuse
Sociological causes are the social conditions that allow for the existence of child abuse. Christina (2006) indicated that according to feminists, there is a high connection between child abuse and domestic violence. In his book, Doak (2007) explores the severity and connection between child abuse and domestic violence. As the author implied, domestic violence is a social concern because when the mother and father conflict, the child suffers the most and may be more susceptible to abuse. The author discussed the way a patriarchal society breeds violence. According to her, disadvantaged men tend to exercise power and control over the wife. As the suggests, in a household where domestic violence is the norm, then the child is likely to experience child abuse in their lifetime.
There are specific risk factors for child abuse. Some of the risk factors mentioned by Christina (2006) include family violence, abuse and conflict, poverty within the family, age of the parents, substance and alcohol abuse within the family, physical environment and accommodation, unwanted pregnancy, change in family structure, the attitude of local community towards the child, as well as a mental illness in the child or family. In his book, Williams (2009) provides the opposing viewpoints of child abuse during the socialization process. As the author indicated, on the one hand, it is assumed that boys are exposed to sexual abuse during scouting, and on the other hand, people believe that scouting teaches boys against sexual abuse. The book presents a critical overview of the extent to which children might experience abuse during the socialization process. As Williams (2009) delves deeper into the severity of child abuse in the society, he implies that the community has to be proactive to ensure that they notice the signs of child abuse for early reporting. Furthermore, such risk factors, mentioned by the author, are probable and make children susceptible to child abuse.
Consequences of Child Abuse
Identifying the sociological causes of child abuse and determining those who are at risk is necessary to alleviate its consequences. Christina (2006) articulated that health care providers need to be vigilant to spot the risk factors of children who are experiencing abuse. In another article by Durand, McLaughlin, Imagawa, Upperman, and Jensen (2019) discussed the significance of the identification of targets to recognize children experiencing child abuse at the trauma center. According to the authors, health care providers need to have documentation of children hospital visits to ensure that they recognize the signs of child abuse. However, the authors indicated that on average, reporting of child abuse is low because health practitioners are unable to find concrete evidence that supports the diagnosis. Undoubtedly, this failure to identify and report cases of child abuse is the reason children continue to face the devastating effects of the issue.
The consequences of child abuse can be looked at from various dimensions. Christina (2006) asserted that the association between the child and the abuser the child’s age and stage, as well as the frequency and durability of the abuse, are the dimensions that make the consequences of child abuse differ. According to the author, if the child and the abuser live together in the same household, then the child would have a constant fear of abuse compared to the child who sees their abuser infrequently. Furthermore, a younger child might have fewer impacts on the abuse compared to an older child who is still discovering his or her self-worth (Christina, 2006). Additionally, the author affirmed that the longer the duration and frequency of the abuse, the longer a child will experience the devastating effects of abuse.
The consequences of child abuse can be physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal. Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019) discussed these consequences broadly to make the reader know the severity of child abuse. Each consequence will be outlined below.
Physical
The physical effects of child abuse may occur immediately or later on in life. Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019) indicated that some of the immediate physical health consequences might include brain damage. Furthermore, a study established that children who are abused are at risk of developing physical health complications such as diabetes, malnutrition, heart attack, lung complications, vision problems, high blood pressure, migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, and bowel disease (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2019). With the proper interventions, however, children who experience overwhelming physical health consequences might be able to recover.
Psychological
One psychological consequence is the inability to use cognitive skills. Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019) indicated that children who are maltreated might face cognitive problems such as difficulty in learning and paying attention. Another psychological issue is poor mental and emotional health. Children who experience abuse are likely to develop issues such as depression and anxiety through their adulthood (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2019). Another psychological issue is social difficulties and attachments. Abused children, especially in foster care, may experience attachment disorders, which will make them unable to develop social and romantic relationships into adulthood (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2019). Another psychological consequence is posttraumatic stress. Children who have undergone abuse will always remember the traumatic events, which will make them exhibit feelings of fear, horror, and anger.
Behavioral
One behavioral problem mentioned by Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019) is unhealthy sexual practices where children who have experienced abuse are likely to have more sexual partners participate in unwarranted sexual behavior. Another behavioral consequence is juvenile delinquency. A study reported that most delinquent adolescents are undergoing or have experienced abuse in the past (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2019). The other behavioral impact is alcohol and substance abuse. Studies have reported that children who have been abused are likely to have substance abuse disorders compared to those who have not been abused (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2019). Furthermore, as the author of the article suggests, research indicates that children who have been abused are likely to harm their children later on in life.
Societal
Child abuse impacts society considerably. Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019) indicated that society pays a huge price, including foster care costs, hospitalizations, and delinquency of the abused children. Child maltreatment, without a doubt, affects society at most.
Potential Solutions to Child Abuse
Some aspects might prevent a child from being abused. Christina (2006) discussed some of the personal characteristics that prevent a child from experiencing abuse. Some of the traits include a positive self-image, self-confidence, independence, high sociability, impulse control, low distress, assertiveness, excellent self-help skills, good problems solving skills, and a high reflective learning style (Christina, 2006). Without a doubt, the traits mentioned by the author could significantly reduce the effects of child abuse. When children develop those traits, they could gather the courage to report instances of abuse before it increases. When children develop the characteristics mentioned by the author, there is no doubt that perpetrators would be afraid of abusing children.
Reporting of child abuse cases is necessary to ensure that perpetrators are punished. Williams (2009) supported the issue of reporting as a preventive measure to combat child abuse. According to the author, children and the community should report abuse immediately to prevent it from affecting the development of the child. Furthermore, health care providers play a significant role in alleviating child abuse because when they notice any form of physical abuse on a child during treatment, they will manage to alert authorities. Durand et al. (2019) emphasized that hospital registries need to capture and document the rates of child abuse to indicate the suspicion of child abuse. Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019) also supported the preventive measure of reporting the history of trauma experienced by a child to ensure that the proper investigations are done to eliminate or prove instances of abuse. Without a doubt, when health care practitioners document their suspicions of child abuse, then the child care service organizations will manage to do their investigations and determine whether the child is living in an environment devoid of abuse and neglect.
Child protective services (CPS) need to remove the abused child from the home to ensure that they no longer experience abuse. Doak (2007) supports the idea by indicting that (CPS) needs to act reasonably to ensure that they separate the child from the abuser. Also, the author indicates that a community that does not encourage violence and patriarchy would help to ensure that child abuse does not prevail. Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019) outlined that the community can ensure that both public and private agencies have the tools required to provide children with timely care of child maltreatment and its consequences. Furthermore, the community can ensure that they buffer the instances of child abuse by creating a stable living environment, developing a positive school surrounding, and providing a positive community environment (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2019). Seemingly, the solutions are viable because when the child no longer lives with the abuser, then there is a likelihood that the child will live a peaceful life and have healthy growth and development.
Conclusion
Examining the sociological perspective of child abuse is perplexing because it requires collective efforts from society rather than an individual. Unquestionably, child abuse is a global problem. Despite the cause of child abuse, each of them affects the child significantly. As the research on the issue has established, child abuse affects the social and psychological development of a child. Perpetrators of child abuse need to receive harsh punishments for the crime. Most importantly, policymakers need to revise the existing laws of child abuse and create stricter and effective policies that would help to reduce and eliminate child abuse in the long-run. Since every child is unique, the guidelines need to be diversified, comprehensive and all-encompassing to protect children from abuse. Furthermore, the community and teachers at school h...
