Child abuse can be divided into several categories. In this lesson, the types of\u00a0child abuse are physical abuse, neglect and emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.<\/p>\n
a. Physical Abuse.<\/strong><\/p>\n (1) Definition. Physical abuse to a child can be defined as non accidental\u00a0injury to a child. Such abuse is usually inflicted by someone taking care of the child\u00a0(parent or other caretaker), not by a total stranger. The abuse can be triggered by an\u00a0angry attempt on the adult’s part to punish the child for misbehavior. Or, the physical\u00a0abuse can be the result of furious adult lashing out at a child who just happens to be\u00a0around when the adult has some crisis. The physical abuse may be mild (a few bruises,\u00a0welts, scratches, cuts, scars), moderate (numerous bruises, minor burns, a single\u00a0fracture), or severe (large burn, central nervous system injury, abdominal injury, multiple\u00a0fractures, other life-threatening injury). All of these forms of physical child abuse (even\u00a0mild abuse) are unnecessary and damaging to the child.<\/p>\n (2) Signs and symptoms of physical child abuse. Included are the following:<\/p>\n (a) Bruises. Typical bruises are caused by a forceful slap on the face,\u00a0upper arms, or buttocks.<\/p>\n (b) Distinctive marks. Rectangular, linear, or round marks which might\u00a0have been caused by blunt instruments are common. Choke marks on the neck may be\u00a0evident. There may be circumferential bruises from restraints on the ankles or wrists as\u00a0well as bruises at the corners of the mouth from gags.<\/p>\n (c) Human bite marks. Human bite marks may be found on any part of\u00a0the child’s body but are most frequently found on the cheeks and arms. A physically\u00a0abused child may have healed, healing, and\/or fresh bite marks.<\/p>\n (d) Burn injuries. Cigarette burns on hands, feet, or buttocks indicate\u00a0physical abuse. Burn injuries may be in the shape of a household appliance such as an\u00a0iron, or burn injuries may be the result of scalding from boiling liquid poured on the child.<\/p>\n (e) Facial injuries. There may be trauma to the eyes, ears, nose, or\u00a0mouth.<\/p>\n (f) Bald patches. Bald patches on the child’s scalp interspersed with normal hair growth often indicate physical abuse.<\/p>\n (g) Chest injuries. A radiological bone survey can reveal unusual\u00a0fractures of the ribs, lateral clavicle, scapula, and sternum. Such fractures should\u00a0arouse suspicion of child abuse.<\/p>\n (h) Abdominal injuries. Physical findings of abdominal injuries include\u00a0ruptured liver, spleen, or pancreas as well as intramural hematoma of the bowel.\u00a0Children with these injuries may have recurrent vomiting, abdominal distention, absent\u00a0bowel sounds, local tenderness, or shock. A ruptured liver or spleen is the most\u00a0common finding.<\/p>\n Intramural hematomas can occur at the sites of ligamental support\u00a0such as the duodenum and the proximal jejunum. Intramural hematomas are caused by\u00a0the whipping force of a punch or blow. This injury is different from a ruptured spleen or\u00a0ruptured kidney injury, both of which can be caused by the crushing or compressing\u00a0forces of a traffic accident or a fall.<\/p>\n Adults with a child who has an intramural hematoma\u00a0routinely deny that the child has had a blow to the abdomen. Therefore, in any case in\u00a0which a child has sustained an abdominal injury without a reasonable explanation, the\u00a0medical examiner should suspect child abuse.<\/p>\n b. Neglect and Emotional Abuse.<\/strong><\/p>\n (1) Definition. Neglect involves failure to provide the necessities of life for a\u00a0child.<\/p>\n There are many types of neglect: medical, educational, nutritional, psychosocial,\u00a0physical, and emotional neglect. Abandonment is also classified as a form of neglect.\u00a0The child who is under weight and malnourished may be a victim of nutritional neglect.\u00a0Children under two years old are most frequent sufferers from this type of neglect\u00a0because they are still dependent on adults for food and because the first two years are\u00a0the years of most rapid growth.<\/p>\n Medical (or health care) neglect exists when a child\u00a0with a treatable chronic disease does not receive medical treatment despite\u00a0recommendations to the parents or caretakers.<\/p>\n Physical neglect occurs when those\u00a0responsible for caring for the child don’t take care of him. Included in physical neglect\u00a0are dirty hair, dirty or inadequate clothing, incomplete immunizations, unsanitary home\u00a0environments, unstimulating environments, inadequate after school supervision, and\u00a0excessive work. Such children should also be evaluated for the presence or absence of\u00a0severe emotional disturbances. Often, their parents are very depressed and withdrawn.\u00a0The failure to thrive syndrome (FTT) is part of this type of child abuse. All of these\u00a0forms of neglect have an emotionally damaging impact on the child.<\/p>\n (2) Signs and symptoms of neglect and emotional abuse. Included are the\u00a0following:<\/p>\n (a) Stage of development less than other children of the same age.<\/p>\n (b) Evidence of various problems in learning.<\/p>\n (c) Frequently very depressed.<\/p>\n (d) Fearful.<\/p>\n (e) Aggressive behavior.<\/p>\n (f) Socially withdrawn.<\/p>\n (g) Sometimes behaves in more adult manner than other children of\u00a0the same age.<\/p>\n c. Sexual Abuse of a Child.<\/strong><\/p>\n (1) Definition. Any sexual activity between an adult and a child (child = a\u00a0person under the age of 18) is defined as sexual abuse.<\/p>\n Types of sexual abuse of a\u00a0child include rape (rape of a child, formerly called statutory rape, = sexual intercourse\u00a0with a girl, not the offender’s wife, under the age of consent), incest, indecent assault,\u00a0child pornography, and child prostitution. Included are child molestation (fondling or\u00a0masturbation of the child by another person), intercourse (vaginal, anal, or oral\u00a0intercourse even though not forced on the child), and family-related rape.<\/p>\n Usually, the\u00a0child victim is a girl (in 90 percent of the cases), and half of these child victims are under\u00a0the age of 12. The person committing the abuse is male 99 percent of the time.<\/p>\n (2) Signs and symptoms of sexual abuse. Included are the following:<\/p>\n (a) Lacerations, bruises, or injuries to the genitals, injuries that cannot\u00a0be explained logically as accidental.<\/p>\n (b) Venereal disease.<\/p>\n (c) Poor sphincter tone.<\/p>\n (3) Reasons victims of sexual abuse participate in the abuse. A variety of\u00a0factors are responsible for the sexually molested victim to cooperate. Included are the\u00a0following:<\/p>\n (a) Rewards or bribes may be used to encourage the victim to go\u00a0along. The offender may treat the abuse as a game, little by little encouraging the\u00a0victim to engage in sexual play.<\/p>\n (b) The offender may use fear. While force and violence are not\u00a0usually used directly, the offender may tell the child he will hurt other family members if\u00a0the child does not cooperate.<\/p>\n (c) The offender may place blame on the victim. Many adults blame\u00a0the child for not resisting the abuser. Remember, children are taught early in life to\u00a0obey adults and to do as adults tell them. Particularly among children under 13, sexual\u00a0activity is beyond their understanding and far beyond the child’s capacity for moral\u00a0judgment. The adult offender is totally responsible, but the child may bear life-long guilt\u00a0feelings that he is a “bad” person. The adult abuser often encourages such feelings.<\/p>\n (d) Many victims believe that others know what is going on. He (the\u00a0victim) may even think that he is sending signals inviting the abuse. When sexual\u00a0advances are made by strangers, the victims often believe more strongly and incorrectly\u00a0that they have brought the abuse on themselves.<\/p>\n (e) A different kind of fear is present if the offender is a member of the\u00a0victim’s family. The victim sometimes is afraid that telling about the abuse will disrupt or\u00a0destroy his family, and the child cares about his family very much.<\/p>\n (f) The sexually abused child may not realize that anything is wrong if\u00a0the abuse is committed by someone the child loves and trusts.<\/p>\n (g) The victim may believe that ending the sexual activity will mean the\u00a0loss of the love of the abuser.<\/p>\n (h) Sometimes victims think no one will believe them and so do not tell\u00a0anyone.<\/p>\n (i) Victims may feel that sex is bad and be too ashamed and guilty to\u00a0tell anybody about what has happened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Child abuse can be divided into several categories. In this lesson, the types of\u00a0child abuse are physical abuse, neglect and emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. a. Physical Abuse. (1) Definition. Physical abuse to a child can be defined as non accidental\u00a0injury to a child. Such abuse is usually inflicted by someone taking care of the … Continue reading 4-07. TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE<\/span>