Child Abuse and Neglect Research Paper

One of the major problems which faces societies in our days is child abuse and neglect. This problem has always existed, but it is now that scientists are beginning to discover the disastrous results that it leads to. Neglect and abuse are the same, expect in one major difference. While the damage is not intended in the cases of neglect, it is intended in the cases of abuse (Griffin, 1992). By definition, neglect is the absence of adequate social, emotional and physical care.

Abuse on the other hand is defined as the nonaccidental physical attack on or injury to children by individuals caring for them. The majority of the cases of abuse are those of emotional abuse (Griffin, 1992). However, cases of physical abuse are also serious with 20,000 cases recorded annually in the US as cases of physical abuse. Physical abuse involves hitting the child in such a way as to hurt him. At the same time, more than 113,000 cases are reported annually in the US as sexual abuse cases (Zanden, 1993).

Sexual abuse is defined as the forced, tricked, or coerced sexual behavior between a child and an older person. Sexual abuse is considered to be the worst kind of child abuse, and is usually the least reported, mainly because it takes place inside the family. Child abuse in Lebanon is not a new problem. In fact, the patriarchial structure of the Lebanese family gives the father more chances to abuse his children and even his wife. Besides, our society tolerates beating children in order to make them grow up straight.

Our heritage contains proverbs such as “use the stick for those who disobey,” and “hit your child and he will be straight. ” It is tough for many people to understand why anyone would abuse a child, but it happens more than people think. Intergenerational transmission of violence is a major cause of child abuse. Children who were abused when they were young are more likely to be abusive when they grow up and have children. (Compton’s 1) Some studies have shown that thirty percent of abused children grow up to be abusive parents.

Children who were not abused and grow up to have children are much less likely to be abusive parents, only two to three percent of people will be abusive. (Child Abuse and Neglect 1) People would tend to question why a child who knows how hard it was when they were young would grow up and do this to their child. Children grow up thinking that everything their parents do is right. The problem is when these children are abused they don’t often learn that it is the wrong thing to do, and will be more likely to abuse their children.

Stress can be a cause of child abuse as well. Parents who don’t know how to handle stress will often lash out, and become abusive to their children. Stress can be brought on from a variety of places. Common stress factors are unemployment, illness, drug abuse, poor housing, larger than average family size, death, or the presence of a new baby. What exactly does it mean to serve children through this case management relationship? What does the relationship offer besides referral to specific, functional services like those already discussed?

More generally, the family-oriented case managers in the site programs serve children by:

• Keeping an eye on children themselves and helping families gauge how their children are doing;
• Providing parents with support and friendship, assistance in improving important family relationships and in dealing differently with their children, and information about parenting or children;
• Providing friendship, support, and role models for a child directly; and encouraging other service deliverers to respond more effectively to a child’s needs.

In several programs, case managers struggle to bring together their role in relation to a single client, such as a teen mother or a school age child, with their role in relation to the family as a whole. In these successful examples, case managers reported integrating those roles to see the child in a family context rather than advocating for one family member against another, but not all experiences were as successful.

In addition, case managers operated with quite different levels of training in child development and family functioning; again, the examples illustrated in this paper show what is possible with training and, in several cases, expert backup support. The following discusses the societal changes that should be made to protect children in the twenty-first century. Children who are growing up in poverty or other kinds of need are likely to come into contact with other large public agencies besides the welfare system: the public schools, community health clinics or city hospitals, and, perhaps, sadly, the state’s child protective services agency.

What are the implications of the findings presented here for the other large public agencies that see poor children and families? To put the question slightly differently, what principles would we apply to each system if we wanted to create a coherent network of services to children? While this study was not designed to investigate other service systems in any detail, the research sites do suggest several intriguing speculations (Crosson, 2010). First, other agencies besides the welfare department can and should consider what it means to be two-generational.

As the research sites and the evidence of other researchers suggest, family needs are often intertwined, whereas the services offered by many of the large systems are limited to a single family member (Jones, 2004). In summary, whenever we do not take care of our children, it is easily for child abuse to happen. Although each man has own problems, but it is not fair if we throw all troubles to a child. In my opinions, child abuse is a complicated and sensible issue because it has just occurred when we have lost control of ourselves. Whatever the causes of child abuse, the most important thing is adults’ behavior.

So, education is the best method for preventing child abuse. Through the training programs, adult might get a healthier life and children can have some skills of self protection. And I hope that in future children all over the world might keep away from child abuse.

References

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