Child Development
Impact of Abuse and Neglect on Child Development
For some children, the effects of abuse, neglect, and witnessing violence can be buffered by close personal relationships they form with trusted adults. Social supports can even help them recover from such traumatic events, particularly when current attachments to safety figures outweigh the terrors of the past. For too many children, however, these experiences result in scars that, if not indelible, are exceedingly difficult to erase. This is particularly true when abuse, neglect, or trauma from violence occurs by age three. Experts say that traumatic early experiences can cause a normal child to become developmentally delayed or develop serious emotional problems. Research has established that early childhood trauma has a profound impact on the emotional, behavioural, cognitive, social, and physical functioning of children.
Long-Term Effects of Childhood Abuse on the Quality of Life and Health of Older People: Results from the Depression and Early Prevention of Suicide in General Practice Project
Numerous studies have demonstrated an association between childhood sexual and physical abuse and impairments in adult physical and mental health. Adult mental health consequences of childhood abuse include depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, sexual disorders suicidal behaviour, and substance abuse, whereas physical health effects include chronic pain, gynaecological problems, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, headaches, cardiovascular disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
How child abuse and neglect damage the brain
For 7 -year-old Zachary Risotti, feeling safe and cared about is a new experience. At 2, Zachary was taken to the emergency room because of a suspicious cigarette burn under his left eye. Six months later, he was back in the hospital with a burn on his right forearm. Suspecting abuse, the state Department of Social Services removed him from his home, but he bounced around three foster homes before he was finally adopted in July 2000.
By then, Zachary already bore psychological scars of child abuse. At 3, he had the communication skills typical of a toddler half his age. He avoided eye contact, fidgeted constantly and expressed his frustration by sitting in a corner and crying.
The Impact of Abuse on the Brain
Each year in the United States alone, there are over three million children that are abused or neglected. These destructive experiences impact the developing child, increasing risk for emotional, behavioural, academic, social and physical problems throughout life. The purpose of this article is to outline how these experiences may result in increased risk by influencing the development and functioning of the child's brain.
Exposure to Degrading Versus Nondegrading Music Lyrics and Sexual Behavior Among Youth
Early sexual activity is a significant problem in the United States. A recent survey suggested that most sexually experienced teens wish they had waited longer to have intercourse; other data indicate that unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are more common among those who begin sexual activity earlier. Popular music may contribute to early sex. Music is an integral part of teens’ lives. The average youth listens to music 1.5 to 2.5 hours per day. Sexual themes are common in much of this music and range from romantic and playful to degrading and hostile. Although a previous longitudinal study has linked music video consumption and sexual risk behavior, no previous study has tested longitudinal associations between the content of music lyrics and subsequent changes in sexual experience, such as intercourse initiation, nor has any study explored whether exposure to different kinds of portrayals of sex has different effects.
Footballers pay a penalty but our X-rated culture must share the blame
The insidious growth in porn has blurred the line between normal and deviant, leaving many young people sexually confused and morally adrift, writes Richard Eckersley
Another key issue is the relationship between the mainstream and the margin. Even if we regard explicit sexual images as relatively harmless, our experience suggests that, unrestrained, it leads to the portrayal of more extreme and degrading forms of sexual behaviour. For example, the history of porn in Scandinavia shows it was only a matter of years before images of nude women became images of consensual sex between adults and then images of very young children being penetrated by adult men – to the concern of some of those who had championed sexual liberation.
Early Menarche
Whilst early onset of puberty is considered normal and no cause for alarm, scientists have been puzzled why the onset of puberty has advanced so quickly in this century. Now research in New Zealand is finding that having a father present in the family is a significant factor in delaying pubertal development. Could this finding explain why the average age of menarche (first menstruation) occurs on average, at age 12 instead of 16, as it did 100 years ago?
OTHER SUBJECT HEADINGS:
Fatherlessness
Unacceptable Risk
Shared Parenting
Child Support
Child Development
Contravention