Patrick Esposito Maltreatment

Running head: CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
Patrick Esposito
EDPY 705
Prof. Niehaus
3/24/2015
Child Abuse and Neglect:
Maltreatment and the Resulting Problems
Child abuse and neglect is a serious problem that affects the lives of many children who
currently suffer from maltreatment as well as adults who were subject to abuse earlier in their
lives. The case I am building my solutions project around had many problems that led to his
unfortunate outcome, but I believe that none had as large an impact on his growth and
development as the maltreatment, especially the neglect, that he suffered at the hands of his
parents. For the purpose of developing a future prevention and recognition program that might
help avoid negative outcomes, like those displayed in the case I am using, I will define and
describe the problems of maltreatment and neglect in addition to identifying possible reasons
why these issues may pose a serious problem to healthy development.
The problem of maltreatment, as defined by the Child Development and Education text
book, is the, adverse treatment of a child and can be broken into four major categories; neglect,
physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse (McDevitt & Ormrod. 2013, p. 84). While the
child in my case may have faced all of these except for sexual abuse, my project will focus
primarily on the aspect of neglect. Neglect is defined as occurring, when care givers fail to
provide food, clothing, shelter, health care, or affection and do not adequately supervise
CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
childrens activities(McDevitt et al. 2013, p. 84). The problem of maltreatment is relatively

widespread and affects one out of every seven children in the U.S. and is perpetrated by family
members or other care providers (McDevitt et al. 2013). Numbers later published by the Center
for Disease Control (CDC) indicate that 9.2 of every 1000 children, based on projections using
referred cases, was a victim of maltreatment, and 78% of these instances was neglect (CDC,
2014). This same report assessed that girls were slightly more at risk than boys, children
younger than one are the age group at most risk for victimization with risk dissipating as age
increased, and that African American youth were at highest risk according to reported cases, with
Asian youth being the lowest (CDC, 2014). These reported cases give an idea of what
populations face the highest number of maltreatment cases, but these numbers, especially in the
case of racial distribution, can probably be at least partially attributed to low socio-economic
status. The problem of maltreatment also seems to affect children living in large urban areas
more than those living elsewhere (Fantuzo, Perlman, & Dobbins, 2011 ). Other factors that are
related to higher rates of maltreatment, in respect to victims, parents, and families, are parents or
care-givers with psychological or substance abuse problems, isolation, poverty, constant
relocation, large family size, or poor parenting techniques directed byreligious or cultural norms
(McDevitt et al. 2013).
In addition to the physical or emotional scars left by abuse or neglect at the hands of their
caregivers, children who have been subjected to abuse face problems that follow them after they
have left their parents supervision. The academic performance of children who have suffered
from abuse, in particular, has gained interest from researchers for the past few decades. This
research has shown that youth who have been victims of abuse, and neglect in particular, have
significantly poorer academic outcomes than their peers who have normal family relationships
(Kendall-Tacket & Eckenrode., 1996; Leiter & Johnsen, 1994). This is a problem that has the
potential to perpetuate itself across generations as low levels of education and resulting low
socio-economic status have been shown to be a contributing factor in cases of neglect and abuse
(Zuravin & Taylor, 1987) Fortunately, there seems to be evidence that if these instances of
maltreatment are recognized and reported, the negative effects they have can be at least partially
and temporarily mitigated (Leiter, 2007).
The are many problems that have been shown to impact the outcomes for children who
experienced abuse in the early years of development. In 2007, a team coordinated by the
Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED) created a report reviewing and
summarizing the existing research on early child maltreatment (birth to age 3) and it's associated
developmental problems. This report breaks down these developmental problems into 4
categories; health, growth and motor delays, cognitive disturbances, social emotional
disturbances, and psychopathologies. Those problems associated with the first category, health,
include acute and chronic health problems, growth delays, and gross and fine motor delays.
These problems can be interrelated and result from changes in brain size and structure that stem
from maltreatment. The report also notes how children with medical problems and other delays
are at increased risk of being maltreated (U.S. DHHS, 2007). The second category, cognitive
disturbances, indicates that maltreatment is related to higher instances of cognitive as well as
speech and language delays even when the effects of socio-economic status influence are
controlled (U.S. DHHS, 2007). These particular problems, as described in the report, can result
in children being less likely to engage in independent academic exploration or engagement of
educational tasks (U.S. DHHS, 2007). Social-emotional disturbances recognized by the report
include poor emotional comprehension, heightened arousal to negative emotions, increased
expression of negative emotion, increased evidence of insecure attachment relationships, poor

peer relations, and poor social competence (U.S. DHHS, 2007). This abnormal emotional
development has a negative result or peer and family relationships that are usually a cornerstone
for developing other social competencies (U.S. DHHS, 2007). The last of the categories
discussed in the report deals with diagnosable mental health issues that develop as a result of
early maltreatment. These include: externalizing problems such as aggressive and oppositional
behavior, internalizing problems like depression and anxiety, attachment disorders, PTSD, as
well as problems with adjustment and regulatory disorders (U.S. DHHS, 2007). Maltreated boys
are more likely to display aggression while girls are more likely to become withdrawn (U.S.
DHHS, 2007).
The problems listed specifically in the government report can have a long lasting and
sometimes permanent impacts of the life of an individual and their ability to function properly
within society. Maltreatment, especially at an early age can cause irreversible damage to a child
emotionally and sometimes physically. It is for this reason that we must develop new techniques
and programs that allow educators, medical professionals, and social workers to identify and
report abuse and neglect before it can permanently set a child on a path that predisposes them for
underachievement and unhappiness.
References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). National Center for Injury Prevention and
Control. Division of Violence Protection. Child maltreatment: Facts at a Glance.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2007). Developmental problems of maltreated
children and early intervention options for maltreated children. (Zero to Three Contract #:
233-03-0099).
Fantuzzo, J. W., Perlman, S. M., Dobbins, E. K. (2011). Types and timing of child maltreatment
and early school success: A population-based investigation. Children and Youth Services
Review , 33
Jones-Harden, B. (2007). Infants in the child welfare system: A developmental framework for
policy and practice. Washington, DC: Zero to Three.
Kendall- Tackett, K. A., Eckenrode, J. (1996) The effects of neglect on academic achievement
and disciplinary problems: A developmental perspective. Child Abuse & Neglect, 20 (3)
Leiter, J., Johnsen, M. C. (1994). Child maltreatment and school performance. American
Journal of Education, 102 (2)
Leiter, J. (2007). School performance trajectories after the advent of reported maltreatment.
Children and Youth Services Review, 29
McDevitt, T. M., & Ormrod, J. E. (2013). Child development and education. Pearson
International Edition (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson..
Zuravin, S. J., & Taylor, R. (1987). The ecology of child maltreatment: Identifying and
characterizing high-risk neighborhoods. Child Welfare, 66, 497-506.

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Running head: CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

childrens activities(McDevitt et al. 2013, p. 84). The problem of maltreatment is relatively

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

expression of negative emotion, increased evidence of insecure attachment relationships, poor

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

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