Child Abuse in the Family

Paper Summary:

This paper studies the devastation of child abuse within the family unit. The paper examines the causes and characteristics of child abuse and outlines coping strategies and solutions. The author of the paper begins with a definition of child abuse and a discussion of the difficulty in diagnosing it, especially when parents assert that they were merely disciplining their children. The paper includes statistics about common forms of abuse, which are committed by virtually every parent, including screaming and yelling in rage. In order to distinguish abuse, the paper suggests a litmus test of several factors, including frequency, duration and type of neglect, and potential consequences. Next the paper examines why child abuse occurs so rampantly in the U.S., asserting that as a society, Americans do not sufficiently value children. The paper concludes with a discussion of social strategies to end child abuse and to mitigate its devastating impact on young victims.

From the Paper:

"Child abuse includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological or physical abuse, and general, medical and educational neglect. There are problems in diagnosing what can be construed as examples of each of these, though. These problems have arisen because while the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect has established a set of working definitions of the various types of abuse, the specific acts that constitute the various forms of abuse are defined under state law and, thus vary from one jurisdiction to another (Lewit 233). In addition to the difficulty in providing a legal definition and proof of child abuse, it is also likely to be interpreted differently by different individuals. Besides, there are no universal standards for child rearing, and what is considered neglect in one culture may not be considered abnormal in another. For example, the norms in Western countries of allowing infants to "cry it out," children to sleep alone at night, and children being forced to wait for meals may be considered neglect in some other cultures."

More papers on Child Abuse in the Family:

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