Violence is the use of physical force to cause harm to people,animals,or property,such as pain,injury,death,damage,or destruction. Some definitions are somewhat broader,such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power,threatened or actual,against oneself,another person,or against a group or community,which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury,death,psychological harm,maldevelopment,or deprivation."
Development of sexuality is a part of the development and maturation of children. It includes a range of sensory,emotional,and consequent sexual activities that may occur before or during early puberty,but before full sexual maturity is established. The development of child sexuality and the perception of child sexuality by adults is influenced by social and cultural aspects. The concept of child sexuality also played an important role in psychoanalysis.
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury,trauma,bodily harm or other physical suffering to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. Physical abuse is a type of abuse that involves physical violence,such as hitting,kicking,pushing,biting,choking,throwing objects,and using weapons. Physical abuse also includes using restraints or confinement,such as tying someone up,locking them in a room,or restraining them with drugs or alcohol. Physical abuse can also include withholding basic needs,such as food,clothing,or medical care. In addition to the physical injuries caused by physical abuse,it can also lead to psychological trauma,such as fear,anxiety,depression,and post-traumatic stress disorder. Physical abuse can occur in any relationship,including those between family members,partners,and caregivers. It can also occur in institutional settings,such as nursing homes,schools,and prisons. Physical abuse can have long-term physical,psychological,and social consequences,and can even be fatal.
A form of child abuse,child neglect is an act of caregivers that results in depriving a child of their basic needs,such as the failure to provide adequate supervision,health care,clothing,or housing,as well as other physical,emotional,social,educational,and safety needs. All societies have established that there are necessary behaviours a caregiver must provide for a child to develop physically,socially,and emotionally. Causes of neglect may result from several parenting problems including mental disorders,unplanned pregnancy,substance use disorder,unemployment,over employment,domestic violence,and,in special cases,poverty.
Child abuse is physical,sexual,and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children,especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to act by a parent or a caregiver that results in actual or potential harm to a child and can occur in a child's home,or in the organizations,schools,or communities the child interacts with.
Child protection refers to the safeguarding of children from violence,exploitation,abuse,and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions of abuse,providing support and services to protect children,and holding those who have harmed them accountable.
Emotional dysregulation is a range of emotional responses that do not lie within a desirable scope of emotive response,considering the stimuli.
The trauma model of mental disorders,or trauma model of psychopathology,emphasises the effects of physical,sexual and psychological trauma as key causal factors in the development of psychiatric disorders,including depression and anxiety as well as psychosis,whether the trauma is experienced in childhood or adulthood. It conceptualises people as having understandable reactions to traumatic events rather than suffering from mental illness.
Sexual abuse or sex abuse,also referred to as molestation,is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assault against a small child,whereas sexual abuse is a term used for a persistent pattern of sexual assaults.
Sibling abuse includes the physical,psychological,or sexual abuse of one sibling by another. More often than not,the younger sibling is abused by the older sibling. Sibling abuse is the most common of family violence in the US,but the least reported. As opposed to sibling rivalry,sibling abuse is characterized by the one-sided treatment of one sibling to another.
Child sexual abuse (CSA),also called child molestation,is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child,indecent exposure,child grooming,and child sexual exploitation,such as using a child to produce child pornography.
Jennifer Joy Freyd is an American psychologist,researcher,author,educator,and speaker. Freyd is an extensively published scholar who is best known for her theories of betrayal trauma,DARVO,institutional betrayal,and institutional courage.
Institutional abuse is the maltreatment of a person from a system of power. This can range from acts similar to home-based child abuse,such as neglect,physical and sexual abuse,and hunger,to the effects of assistance programs working below acceptable service standards,or relying on harsh or unfair ways to modify behavior. Institutional abuse occurs within emergency care facilities such as foster homes,group homes,kinship care homes,and pre-adoptive homes. Children who are placed in this type of out of home care are typically in the custody of the state. The maltreatment is usually caused by an employee of the facility.
Linda Meyer Williams is an American sociologist and criminologist. She is senior research scientist at Wellesley Centers for Women and director of the Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative. She is also professor emerita of criminal justice and criminology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell,where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on child maltreatment,research methods,and gender,race and crime. Williams has researched in the field of psychology on topics including child abuse,family violence and violence against women,and trauma and memory.
Trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy or counselling that aims at addressing the needs of children and adolescents with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other difficulties related to traumatic life events. This treatment was developed and proposed by Drs. Anthony Mannarino,Judith Cohen,and Esther Deblinger in 2006. The goal of TF-CBT is to provide psychoeducation to both the child and non-offending caregivers,then help them identify,cope,and re-regulate maladaptive emotions,thoughts,and behaviors. Research has shown TF-CBT to be effective in treating childhood PTSD and with children who have experienced or witnessed traumatic events,including but not limited to physical or sexual victimization,child maltreatment,domestic violence,community violence,accidents,natural disasters,and war. More recently,TF-CBT has been applied to and found effective in treating complex posttraumatic stress disorder.
Cathy Spatz Widom is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal JusticeCity University of New York. She is known for her research on long term consequences of early childhood physical and sexual abuse and child neglect. Widom received the AAAS Prize for Behavioral Science Research in 1989,the Edwin H. Sutherland Award in 2013,and the Stockholm Prize in Criminology in 2016.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include childhood emotional,physical,or sexual abuse and household dysfunction during childhood. The categories are verbal abuse,physical abuse,contact sexual abuse,a battered mother,household substance abuse,household mental illness,incarcerated household members,and parental separation or divorce. The experiences chosen were based upon prior research that has shown to them to have significant negative health or social implications,and for which substantial efforts are being made in the public and private sector to reduce their frequency of occurrence. Scientific evidence is mounting that such adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a profound long-term effect on health. Research shows that exposure to abuse and to serious forms of family dysfunction in the childhood family environment are likely to activate the stress response,thus potentially disrupting the developing nervous,immune,and metabolic systems of children. ACEs are associated with lifelong physical and mental health problems that emerge in adolescence and persist into adulthood,including cardiovascular disease,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,autoimmune diseases,substance abuse,and depression.
Out-of-home placements are an alternative form of care when children must be removed from their homes. Children who are placed out of the home differ in the types and severity of maltreatment experienced compared to children who remain in the home. One-half to two-thirds of youth have experienced a traumatic event leading to increased awareness and growing literature on the impact of trauma on youth. The most common reasons for out-of-home placements are due to physical or sexual abuse,violence,and neglect. Youth who are at risk in their own homes for abuse,neglect,or maltreatment,as well as youth with severe emotional and behavior issues,are placed out of the home with extended family and friends,foster care,or in residential facilities. Out-of-home placements aim to provide children with safety and stability. This temporary,safe environment allows youth to have their physical,mental,moral,and social needs met. However,these youth are in a vulnerable position for experiencing repeated abuse and neglect.
Sandy Kay Wurtele is an American psychologist. She is Professor Emerita in the Department of Psychology at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs where she specialized in the prevention of childhood sexual abuse. Wurtele is the author of several educational and scholarly materials for professionals,parents,and children on preventing childhood sexual assault and abuse. Wurtele has provided training and consultation to a number of national and international organizations and researchers on this topic,including on the National Center for Missing &Exploited Children's Education Standards Task Force,the USA Swimming Safe Sport Committee,USA Wrestling,and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.
The influence of childhood trauma on the development of psychopathy in adulthood remains an active research question. According to Hervey M. Cleckley,a psychopathic person is someone who is able to imitate a normal functioning person,while masking or concealing their lack of internal personality structure. This results in an internal disorder with recurrent deliberate and detrimental conduct. Despite presenting themselves as serious,bright,and charming,psychopathic people are unable to experience true emotions. Robert Hare's two factor model and Christopher Patrick's triarchic model have both been developed to better understand psychopathology;however,whether the root cause is primarily environmental or primarily genetic is still in question.
