The Impact of Childhood Adversity on Adults

This assignment delves into the profound and lasting impacts of various forms of childhood adversity on individuals as they transition into adulthood. It examines the psychological, social, and health repercussions stemming from experiences such as physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. The papers explore how these early traumas can influence mental health, relationships, and overall well-being in later life.

Running head: SAFEGUARDING IN HEALTH CARE AND ABUSE
Safeguarding in health care and abuse
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction: 2
Task 1A: 2
Question 1: 2
Question 2: 4
Task 1B: 5
Question 3: 5
Reference: 8

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Introduction:
There are a varied range of external and internal factors in the society that affect the overall
health and wellbeing of the individuals belonging to a societal community. However, among
these range of different factors, there a few that demand immediate attention of the concerned
authorities. Abuse and its consequences can be considered one of those factors that influence the
health and wellbeing of a community affectively. It has to be understood that abuse does not just
affect the victim physically; the lingering effect of the abuse is ever-present in the psych of the
victim for years to come (Ecclestone and Goodley 2012).
As mentioned above, there are various kinds of abuse, and each one of them has had a
differential yet significant impact on the health and wellbeing of the community as well as the
members of the said community. Apart from physical abuse another very important kind of
abuse is the emotional kind, which has a very similar impact on the physical and mental health
and wellbeing of the victim if not more (Manthorpe and Stevens 2015). This assignment will
focus on the different aspects associated with emotional abuse on older men and women, taking
the help of a case study.
Task 1A:
Question 1:
In the case study selected for this assignment, an 82 year old woman named Bridget had been
living alone in her own cottage and had been suffering with alcoholism. Along with that the
subjective data from the case study also indicates at the extreme fall risk for Bridget and the fact
that she had been frequently admitted to the hospital due to multiple occurrences of fall and

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alcohol problems. However, another alarming fact that has to be highlighted in this context that
Bridget had a tenant named Mr. Y, who rented the lower floor of her cottage. Now one of the key
concerns with this case study is the fact that Bridget had been suffering with extreme emotional
abuse at the hands of Mr Y. Now a few essential factors regarding Mr Y that needs to be
accounted for when discussing the emotional abuse that Bridget underwent, is the fact that Mr Y
had been volatile throughout in his behaviour and has interrupted with the health care procedure
for Bridget as well post her fall and alcoholism concern (Coppock and McGovern 2014).
Emotional abuse can be defined as the phenomenon of the abuse victim being subjected or
exposed to psychological trauma due to actions or behaviours that are potentially psychologically
harmful. It has to be mentioned in this context that the implications for emotional abuse is vast in
this society, one contributing factor to that may be the fact that the signs of physical abuse is
much more conspicuous in the society, where as the effects of mental abuse is not very clearly
recognized. Another very important factor can be the fact that the emotional abuse victims often
consider themselves responsible for the abuse they go through, restricting the chances of the
abuse becoming reported further. When discussing the factors that r responsible behind the
chances of individuals like Bridget getting controlled and abused, is this self loathing or lack of
self worth (Khan et al., 2016).
Elaborating more on the risk factors that facilitate instances of such emotional abuse include
the implications of social isolation and loneliness. It has to be understood that, as per the case
study, Bridget had been living alone in a house, and with her health related complications like
multiple injurious falls and alcoholism, she had no one to care for her or provide mental support.
Hence, the increased loneliness and hopelessness might have been another factor that contributed
to Bridget being so easily drawn to the controlling and persuading nature of Mr. Y. Lastly it

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needs to be mentioned that for the case represented by Bridget, she had been an alcoholic and
had been reprocessing from the alcoholism as indicated by the frequent hospital visits that the
patient under consideration has been suffering made it much easier for Mr Y to manipulate her. It
has to be considered that for the elderly population living with the emotional support and
companionship, the urge to alcoholism is not very uncommon (Power, Smith and Trestman
2016). And these vulnerabilities which are more accentuated and enhanced by the alcoholism
and the resultant deteriorating health conditions, facilitate the chances of these women becoming
the susceptible victims to emotional abuse.
Question 2:
There are several factors that can lead to emotional abuse to the victims, and these risk
factors associated with various external and internal variables within the societal structure. It has
to be considered that psychological abuse on emotional abuse is a broad umbrella term that
encompasses a lot of intricate behavioral segments that proper the emotional abuse victim
towards self hate and self loathing. Elaborating further, they can be social family emotional or
individual risk factors that can contribute to the instances of emotional abuse for any victim.
Considering the individual risk factors there can be personal disabilities, physical or mental
illness, behavioral flaws, attention seeking disorders and many more. How everything is risk
factors are dynamic and the assortment of risk factors escalating to an emotional abuse can
change from person to person going through different kinds of situations and being in different
type of mental state (Breines and Ayduk 2015).
For instance, as represented in the case study, there is a considerable assortment of risk
factors that contributed to the emotional abuse the 82 year old woman received on the hands of a
tenant. Elaborating more, it has to be considered that Bridge yet had been a weirdo who was

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living on her own in her Cottage. Despite having a brother she has been living completely alone
isolated from the rest of the society, which can be significant contributing factor to the societal
helplessness and acute loneliness that she had been suffering with. With old age the concept of
emotional dependence increases multiple folds due to the extreme physical restrictions and
deteriorating health. Along with that, another very important risk factors associated with the case
study had been the fact that the patient had been years old, in this last few years of life
companionship and familial support are the two key factors that help the frail elderly person go
through every single day (Schilpzand, Leavitt and Lim 2016). However in this case, Bridget had
no one to share her woes with or provide her mental and emotional support, which is the very
possible risk factor that propelled her to alcohol and exposed her vulnerabilities to her tenant
which resulted into the controlling exploitation and emotional abuse.
Lastly, another risk factor that deserves attention in this context is the fact with older age
and isolation, the fear of death becomes more and more overpowering and clouds the sane
decision making power of an individual. Hence in this phase, a human being is in desperate need
of emotional support and companionship and support, as Bridget had none, she inevitably
became4 more vulnerable to the emotional abuse and exploitation of Mr Y.
Task 1B:
Question 3:
Considering the social and cultural implications of emotional abuse, the very first element
within the context of the case study that deserves attention is the prevalent data on rising
percentage of different kinds of abuse on Women. According to the recent data, the percentage
of women suffering with abuse is rising alarmingly and the present statistics state that 43% of the

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female population are suffering with some or the other kind of abuse, out of which 32% have
been reported as abusive behaviours and 35% refers to controlling behaviour and emotional
abuse. The societal discrimination and domination that rules the still patriarchal society is one of
the most influential contributing factors that indicate at the rising rate of abuse on women, both
physical and emotional (Norman et al., 2012). The context of abuse on women in the society is
often not taken with as seriousness as it demands and the casual handling of the situation further
complicate the process of the abused women to come forward and seek justice.
Further, when discussing the socio-cultural factors contributing to instances of abuse, the
societal outlook for estranged women and the societal isolation they are subjected to should not
escape notice. It has to be understood that there are still some restricted pattern in the society and
anything out of the boundary of those patterns are not entertained by the majority of the society.
According to the many of the authors, the societal isolation or discrimination against single or
widowed women with any kind of addiction is very much the equivalent to the push towards
extreme depression, self loathing and further addiction dependence for the victim. For instance,
as per the case study, Bridget had been a widow with alcohol addiction, who could have been
very likely isolated from the rest of the society for her lifestyle choices and that, is the reason
that escalated her need for some semblance of companionship and dependence, and contributed
more to her vulnerability (Bott et al., 2012).
Now considering the aspects of the abuser, in most cases the abusers find victims in the
helpless, depressed individuals with desperate need for attention and support. In this case, Mr Y
had been a temperamental man with extremely volatile behavioural patterns. In Bridget he very
easily found a vulnerable victim with extreme need for attention and support and considerable
property and wealth. It has to be considered, another very significant societal factor is the

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preconceived notion that indicates weak and vulnerable individuals the easiest of targets for
abuse and the wealth that she had on her name contributed to the possibility for the abuser to
choose her as the victim. It must be mentioned in this context that considerable wealth with no
next of kin to claim is another very important risk factors for abuse, be it physical or
psychological. According to the authors, it is very easy for the abusers to exploit the victims and
lure them to their own self destruction while manipulating them to think of it as their own faults,
all the while claiming a large proportion of wealth that could have supported the victim lead his
or her life otherwise (Carney and Barner 2012). Hence, there is extreme need for safeguarding
the best interests of the group of vulnerable victims dealing with extreme societal isolation and
need for attention, so that the weak and flailing should not be taken advantage of.
Task 2:
Question 4:
Safeguarding the vulnerable adults is assisted by some laws which help in taking care of
the vulnerable adults. This process involves the identification of the adults those who are
vulnerable. In this process the vulnerable adults are helped in assessing their needs, to work with
them and protecting them from other harms. Vulnerable people are those who are unable in
making decisions and are severely impaired. The types of the harm that are involved are violent
physical or mental abuse, may be financial abuse, or institutional abuse. This vulnerability of the
adults can be prevented by implementing the care act that was implemented in 2014. The care act
2014 imposes a duty on the authorities for promoting the health of the individuals while
providing them care and support. According to this act the authority and the community was
having the right to take care of the adult who is vulnerable. In terms of the case study that was

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provided the local center for healthcare is having the right for protecting the respect of an
individual s well as his dignity. The author of this paper was supposed in observing the mental,
physical and the emotional health of an adult (Power et al. 2016). The care act takes care about
the economic and social healthcare of an individual. This act helps in promoting the social
contribution of the adult. So it can be told that the care act is helping Bridget to ensure the total
security. In the time of emergency, the Care Act took her to the hospital her proper treatment.
For example this Act provides power to the local authority for controlling and observing the
daily activities of Bridget. The local authority keeps track of Bridget’s relationships and family.
There is another act known as Sexual Offences Act 2003 helps Bridget so that she can get
protection against violence or abuse (Khan et al. 2016). This act generally restricts that the health
workers and also some other people so that they do not engage in any type of sexual activity with
Bridget.
But, the biggest problem is that there are some cases where some of the vulnerable
persons say that the worker who was taking care of the individual has intentionally violated the
rules and regulation. In this case the Act is being used against the care worker. So, it is important
to keep an eye on the health care worker and the patient. The third act known as Safeguarding
Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 was being introduced with the goal that it will prevent the persons
for working as a health care worker if he or she is unable to do their job perfectly and is not fit
for the job (Coppock and McGovern, 2014). The strength of this Act depends of the fact that the
Act helps in preventing the inexperienced health care providers in the task of caring of the
vulnerable peoples.
According to the laws of UK, the section 127 is consists of the MHA 1983, the healthcare
worker is in the responsibility of taking care of the vulnerable adults and cannot neglect or treat

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the patients in a bad manner. If that happens then the health care workers is called to be guilty of
doing a criminal offence. The ill treatment to the patient is a serious offence. In these cases the
worker is punished and sentenced to jail for five years (Manthorpe and Stevens, 2015).
Question 5:
The health professionals used to run the health and social care. The participation and the
work of the health professionals is very necessary for running the health care organizations and
care centers that provides healthcare services to the patients, such as the vulnerable peoples.
Health professionals have their own duty to provide proper health care service to the patients, by
addressing the details information about the patient. It is the responsibility of the health care
professionals that they understand the condition of health of the patient and keeping the
information of the patient very confidential (Ecclestone and Goodley, 2016). This means that the
health care professional who was assigned for the treatment of the patient must not share any
information to other persons. In some conditions, the health care professional may share the
patient’s information if needed to some of the professionals which depends upon the condition of
the requirement.
Conclusion
Thus it could be concluded that for the improvement of the health condition of the
patients who are vulnerable. The health care provider must do their job with full attention and
working for the betterment of the individuals. The vulnerability may occur in many cases due to
many reasons. These can be domestic, social or at individual level. In this case the healthcare
provider assists the patient for providing them with better healthcare services. An individual may
also be vulnerable to the social and cultural factors, in this case the patient must be provided with

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proper care. So the legislations and the acts are established for providing the proper health care
to the persons who are vulnerable and who needs some care.
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