Child Abuse Prevention

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Child Abuse Prevention
SOCIOLOGY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

SOCIOLOGY1
Abstract
Child abuse and neglect is a social and public health problem and children’s rights issues in the
United States and other parts of the world. Abuse, ill-treatment and negligence can result to a far-
reaching extent of adverse outcomes for children and youths. Child abuse and negligence refers
to any behavioral patterns by parents, caregivers along with other adults who is external to the
norms and standards of conduct and encompasses a significant level of risk of posing threats to
children. These types of behaviors tend to be intentional or unintentional and can include acts of
omission such as abandonment and commission such as abuse. Outcomes of child abuse tend to
result in short as well as enduring damage and even death. While, some children may show lack
of awareness that they are sufferers and targets of child abuse. According to Childwelfare.gov
(2018), child abuse is seen as extensive and can transpire in any cultural, national or income
groupings. The thesis statement of the essay is child abuse as a serious issue and must be
prevented for the betterment of the society. The essay has offered comprehensive insights
regarding effects of child abuse and importance of preventing child abuse in the United States.
The essay also shed light on the advantages of preventing child abuse and neglect through
biblical perspective.
Key words: child abuse, child neglect, child mal-treatment, biblical perspectives

SOCIOLOGY2
Introduction
Child abuse or acts of child ill-treatment are seen as physical, sexual and psychological
maltreatment or negligence towards children. Such negligence is mostly received from parents or
caregivers. Child abuse tends to entail any act or incompetence to act by a parent or caregiver,
which often results to actual or possible harm to a child. These heinous acts can also take place
in a child’s residential sphere or in organizations such as educational institutions or communities
with which children interacts (Peterson et al., 2017). While child abuse is typically considered to
acquire the form of action, there can be viewed few examples of inaction which cause harm such
as significant amount of negligence and disregard towards children’s needs and demands.
Eckenrodeet al. (2014) have noted that families in which parents tend to suffer from significant
rate of alcoholism, substance abuse, or issues in handling anger management show higher rate of
occurrences of child abuse in comparison to households without. However, outcomes of child
abuse tend to result in short as well as enduring damage and even death. While, some children
may show lack of awareness that they are sufferers and targets of child abuse. According to
Childwelfare.gov (2018), child abuse is seen as extensive and can transpire in any cultural,
national or income groupings.
The thesis
Understanding child abuse as a serious issue and importance of prevention of child abuse for the
betterment of the society.
Discussion
Increasing rate of Child Abuse Incidences in the United States
A strong majority of the citizens in the United States perceives child abuse and neglect
as social problem. Reports of Childwelfare.gov (2018) have indicated that child abuse and

SOCIOLOGY3
neglect pose severe impacts on households across the country. It has been noted that child abuse
and neglect is a problem in a number of local communities with around 56% of non-Hispanic
whites, 65% of Hispanics, 58% of African-Americans in addition to 54% of Asians.
Furthermore, around 45% of non-Hispanic whites, around 40% of Hispanics and 35% of
African-Americans have witnessed someone of their community to experience acts of child
maltreatment, abuse or neglect in comparison to approximately 27% of Asians. In addition to
this, studies of Van der Kolk (2017) have found that in the U.S, more or less 3.3 million children
have been referred to child protection service agencies for supposed acts of ill-treatment and on
the other hand, around 697,000 children have been determined by state and local child protective
agencies to be targets of abuse and ill-treatment and neglect.
Impacts of Child Abuse on Children and Behavioral Problems
Wide-range of studies has explained that experiencing child abuse results to an extensive
range of internalizing as well as externalizing behavioral problems. For example, authors have
pointed out that abused children have a tendency to show a range of psychological problems,
which includes apprehension, anxiety and depression. However, the impacts of experiencing
abuses and maltreatment tend to persist into the period of adolescence, while teenagers who have
been treated abusively as children show high inclination to exhibit externalizing behavioral
issues related to delinquency as well as violence perpetration. Meanwhile, Sumneret al. (2015)
have mentioned in their studies that children who have been direct targets of mistreatment, abuse
or susceptible to acts domestic violence show higher rate of externalizing as well as internalizing
indications in comparison to children who have only witnessed heinous acts of domestic violence
within their households.