...Caretakers as Abusers Bellevue University Abstract This paper will discuss caregivers who charged with caring for those who are unable to look after themselves. We will consider the sociocultural explanations, social learning, and intra-individual theories associated with this type of abuse. Since most abusers are caretakers who have been entrusted with the tending to of those who are unable to care for themselves, we will examine possible causes that lead them to their cruel behavior. We will also address how the maltreatment of helpless victims falls into two classifications, abuse and neglect, and they both can be physical and/or emotional in nature. These theories will be compared and contrasted as we investigate the characteristics of caretakers involved in the abuse and neglect of children, the elderly, and folks with special needs. Comparing and Contrasting Caretaker Theories Most perpetrators who abuse children, the elderly, and special needs individuals are caretakers who have been entrusted with the tending to of those who are unable to care for themselves. Many are usually either family members or someone well known to the victim (Daigle, 2013). The maltreatment of the helpless falls into two classifications, abuse and neglect, and they both can be physical and/or emotional in nature (Malley-Morrison & Hines, 2004). The three theories in regards to maltreatment that we will be discussing here fall into three common categories and they are: ...
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...The article begins with describing how similar children are to their parents. If a parent is abusive, the child will grow to be an abusive parent. The article even describes how these behavioral tendencies are passed down, whether the person loathes the personality or not. After describing the Harlow’s study with the attachment of monkeys to a wire “mother” and a cloth “mother”, the article moves to Ainsworth’s “Strange Situation” experimental observations. Babies were labeled into 3 groups based on their attachment: Babies who protested or cried when separated from their mother and returned to normal when the mother returned, babies who were clingy to their mothers and did not explore rooms, and the babies who traveled unknown areas without...
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...anyone to keep track of it. As parents try to keep up with the fast-paced world, many rely on television as a babysitter. Their children see violent behaviors and misconduct. Some of the programs are not good for a child since what is seen can desensitize them to abusive behavior in everyday life. Parents have an important role in helping children understand what is seen in the media. Opting for more pro-social programs and explaining about emotions involved is something parents and caregivers can do. There have been studies done of how violence on shows affects children. It is wondered if violence on television has lasting effects. If too much violence is seen by children, they seem to affect by it in later years. It teaches the child that violent and aggressive actions are the ways to solve problems. In the article “Aggression; The impact of media violence” the author Sissela Bok discusse that “the relationship between media violence and societal violence increased in the last decade” (225). The author found through research that a child viewing violence at a young age could influence aggressive tendencies at a later age (Bok, 225). Preschoolers are still interested in vibrant content although development of finding meanings in what is watch start around this age group. Young ones can miss the subtle clues about why the violence is happening and later attempt to play out the aggressive behavior. At this time, consequences for abusive actions on television may not...
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...All children are affected by the violence in their homes. Regardless of whether or not our children have been physically abused, watching their mother being battered is a frightening experience. Children from violent homes can exhibit a variety of behaviors. Some may "act out" and may be viewed as delinquent. Domestic violence is an ongoing experience of physical, psychologic, and/or sexual abuse in the home that is used to establish power and control over another person.1 Although awareness about the rate of domestic violence in our society is increasing, the public health ramifications have only recently been recognized in the medical community. The majority of the medical literature to date has focused on the effect of domestic violence on the primary victim. What effect does witnessing domestic violence have on secondary victims, such as children who live in homes where partner abuse occurs? It is estimated that 3.2 million American children witness incidents of domestic violence annually.2 Witnessing domestic violence can lead children to develop an array of age-dependent negative effects. Research in this area has focused on the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional effects of domestic violence. Children who witness violence in the home and children who are abused may display many similar psychologic effects.3,4 These children are at greater risk for internalized behaviors such as anxiety and depression, and for externalized behaviors such as fighting, bullying, lying, or...
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...family or TV. Understanding what young ones perceive and learn at different ages can be helpful to curb the impact that television shows have on children. Many people are concerned about the effect of media violence on children. Can something be done about this problem? Education and understanding may be a help in curbing violent tendencies. Only time will tell. Media Violence and Children This generation is being raised in a world so full of technology that often it is hard for anyone to keep track of it. As parents try to keep up with the fast-paced world, many rely on television as a babysitter. There children see violent behaviors and misconduct. Some of the programs are not good for a child since what is seen can desensitize them to abusive behavior in everyday life. Parents have an important role in helping children understand what is seen in the media.. Opting for more prosocial programs and explaining about emotions involved is something parents and caregivers can do. There have been studies done of how violence on shows affects children. It is wondered if violence on television has lasting effects. If too much violence is seen by children, they seem to become unaffected by it in later years. It teaches the child that violent and aggressive actions are the ways to solve problems. In one study, it was found that a child viewing violence at a young age could influence aggressive tendencies at a later age. (Szaflik, 2000) Some studies show media violence...
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...Please post the following on the discussion page: 1) What type of clinical guideline is this? What is your rationale for your answer? In my views, this guideline is a clinical practice or medical practice guideline because it recommends what signs and symptoms a pediatrician should look for, how to evaluate infants and toddler. It also tells pediatricians to educate parents and caregivers. 2) What group was the guideline developed for? This guideline is developed for Medical professionals specifically Pediatricians. 3) What was the purpose of this guideline? The purpose of this guideline is for pediatricians to use a less mechanistic and a broader term like abusive head trauma when describing trauma related to blunt injury, injury...
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...violence in terms of the 1960s being the decade of sensitivity to child abuse, the 1970s to spouse abuse, and the 1980s to elder abuse (Kosberg, 1988). Elder abuse became a public issue in 1978 with testimony given to a congressional subcommittee on the abuse of elderly parents (Wolf, 1988). In 1988, the National Aging Resource Center on Elder Abuse (NARCEA) conducted several national surveys that revealed problems across states relative to the reporting of elder abuse. Although authorized in 1987 but not funded until 1990, the Elder Abuse Prevention Program was established under the Older Americans Act, enacted in 1975 (Goldstein, 1995). Greater awareness of this...
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...and summarized. The topic being discussed is infant mental health and how they should be receiving satisfactory care from their caregivers at an early age. Infant mental health can be defined as a field that studies the parent caregiver relationships and inner lives of infants. In agreement with this article, five scholarly academic sources arguments and findings are observed. This paper shows a critical review of infant mental health; the brain’s plasticity through a critical period and the importance of supportive infant-caregiver relationships that produce positive experiences for infants and further their developmental capabilities ultimately, helping them grow better. It also highlights the reality that the society as a whole is involved in providing better environmental influences for infants in order to supply them with a better future. Recommendations for future research and unanswered questions in infant mental health are made in response to the need of support of caregivers and the society. The news article, Infant mental health: Giving children the best head start, emphasizes the importance of the first 1000 days of an infant’s life (2015). Adulthood is shaped and impacted by our early experiences (D’alton, 2015). Professor Kevin Nugent is an expert of early child development, specifically in child behaviour and development, and parent-child relationships (D’alton, 2015). Nugent presented what he describes as a “revolution” in scientific understanding of the capacity...
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...Staff, 1998). A parent or caregiver can...
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...brought about by socio-economic transitions in India have played a major role in increasing the vulnerability of children to various and newer forms of abuse. Child abuse has serious physical and psycho-social consequences which adversely affect the health and overall well-being of a child. 1. CHILD ABUSE – BASIC DEFINITIONS “Child abuse or maltreatment constitutes all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power”. (World Health Organization) "Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm" (The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act – CAPTA) “Child abuse is a very complex and dangerous set of problems that include child neglect and the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of children.” (MedicineNet.com) “Child abuse is the physical and/or psychological/emotional mistreatment of children”. (Wikipedia) “Institutional Abuse or Neglect is that which occurs in any facility for children, including, but not limited to, group homes, residential or public or private schools,...
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...The Silent Killer Child Abuse Rhonda Swazer SOC203 Instructor James Knapp April 14, 2012 The Silent Killer Child Abuse Child abuse is the physical, sexual or emotional mistreatment or neglect of a child (Britannica). In the United States, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and he Department for Children and Families (DCF) define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that result in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child (Leeb , Paulozzi, Melanson, Simon, Arias, 2008). The abuse of children has come to be a major social problem and a main cause of many people suffering and personal problems. Child abuse is a social problem that affects millions of children each year. Not only does child abuse have multiple society effects, but it also effect has individual effects that can create lifelong scars. There are many forms of child abuse, sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional. The most widespread form of child is sexual child abuse also known as incest. A study showed that about 27% of the women in every state of the union, and 16% of the men said they been sexually abuse as children. Child abuse is not always obvious, but the earlier it is caught the better the changes of recovery and appropriate treatment for the child. Knowing some of the warning signs of child abuse and neglect, a person can catch the problem as early as possible and get both...
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...Meet Joe. Joe was born to a set of kind and loving parents. Tragically, Joe’s mom died of cancer when he was three, and now it was up to Joe’s father to raise him and his little sister. Unfortunately, Joe’s father took his wife’s death pretty hard and began to drink consistently. He than began to take his frustrations out on his son. He would beat Joe for the simplest things and confine him to his room. Joe wanted to escape and thought about running away but how could he leave his little sister in a house of terror. If only he had someone to speak up for him and help him through these trying times. When a child enters the world, they are full of innocence and virtue. It is the parent’s job to teach their child the rights and wrongs of life. They must nurture, love and take care of their newborn well into adulthood. Regrettably, every child is not born with a compassionate parent. There are some parents who either don’t know how to take care of their child or blame their offspring for their misfortunes. These predicaments can lead to child abuse; physical and mental. Child abuse is defined as the maltreatment of a child by a parent or guardian (Winton, 29). A common belief is that child abuse only occurs in poor families or bad neighborhoods, but this is not true. Child abuse crosses all racial, economic, and cultural lines. Sometimes, families who seem to have it all from the outside are hiding a different story behind closed doors. Child abuse is more than bruises...
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...including those between a parent and child. Attachment is an emotional bond to another person. Bowlby, was the first attachment theorist, describing attachment as a lasting psychological connectedness between human beings. Bowlby strongly believed that the earliest bonds were formed by children with their caregivers have a tremendously large impact that continues throughout life. As suggested, attachment also serves to keep the infant close to the mother, which allows improvement throughout the child's chances of survival. The central theme of attachment theory is that primary caregivers who are available and responsive to an infant's needs allow the child to develop a sense of security. The infant knows that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then explore the world. Attachment patterns that are established early in life can lead to a number of outcomes. For example, children who are securely attached as infants tend to develop stronger self-esteem and better self-reliance as they grow older, opposed to children who do not have this opportunity throughout the beginning stages of life. These children also tend to be more independent, perform better in school, have successful social relationships, and experience less depression and anxiety. Secure attachment is marked by distress when separated from caregivers and are joys when the caregiver returns. Children feel secure and able to depend on their adult caregivers when the opportunity is...
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...and backlash for carrying out their job duties. In order to properly protect children, Child Welfare workers require a substantial amount of support from other local agencies, state and federal governments. Often in time, when working with families dealing with maltreatment, the individual committing the maltreatment has no idea that what they did was wrong. It is during the removal of the victim(s) and the court hearings where the perpetrator gains insight on what was wrong. In some situations, maltreating parents and guardians simply need help with learning how to cope differently with what is sometimes determined to be misguided anger. Research shows that if a parent or guardian has maltreated a child in the past they are likely to continue the maltreatment if there is no form of intervention and parents or guardians who were maltreated against as a child are likely to maltreat against a child. In the grand scheme of things, if there were programs geared to help new parents and repeat offenders of maltreatment to gain insight into maltreatment, there may be a reduction in the number of abuse and neglect cases reported. This research will hopefully explain in depth the benefits of offering these services to individuals. First we will take a look at the history of Child Welfare, the populations served and services offered. The history of Child...
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...crises, school problems, family relationship problems, isolation, induced stress, anxiety, fear * Microsystemic: abusive parents, parents with mental or physical health problems, family conflict, bullies, single parent, inappropriate caregivers, antisocial peer groups, domestic violence, parental substance abuse, shuttling from home to foster care, lack of money, power issues in house hold * Mesosystemic: Lack of communication between family and school, parent isn’t involved in child education, lack of friends, lack of supervision from parents and community members, lack of religious community * Exosystemic: Medical neglect, less social contact and support, lack of societal/professional knowledge around neglect, low-income neighborhoods, dangerous neighborhoods, lack of resources, lack of childcare, lack of transportation * Macrosystemic: lack of requirement to register sex offenders, lack of social norms around neglect, fear of reporting abuse * https://www.childwelfare.gov/can/factors/protective_factors.cfm * Protective factors * Individual: low stress, coping strategies, positive self-image, sense of purpose, academic skills, involvement in activities, problem solving skills. * Microsystemic: strong parent-child relationships, positive mentors, parent/caregiver well being, living with parents, positive and supportive peers, ability to bond with friends, interactive teachers, positive school environment, stable...
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