User talk:Crystaltrujillo

It was not until the 19th century that children were granted the same legal status as domesticated animals with regard to protection against cruelty and/or neglect. In 1962, the term "battered child syndrome" became part of the medical vocabulary and by 1976 all of the states in the United States had adopted laws mandating the reporting of suspected child abuse.

What is the scope of the child abuse problem? Child abuse is a worldwide problem affecting children from birth to 18 years of age. The most recent U.S. data dates from 2005, during which 3.3 million reports of abuse and neglect were filed. About 60% of these reports warranted investigation with one-half of these allegations substantiated. These data indicate the incidence of child abuse and neglect to be 12.1 per 1,000 children; 1,460 children (four children/day) died in 2005 as a result of inflicted trauma with more than 77% of these deaths in children less than 4 years of age.

'''While "reports" of alleged child abuse are not always substantiated during the investigation process, most authorities believe that a large underreporting bias is inherent in the data. There is much more child abuse than gets reported.'''

What age child is abused? All ages of children suffer from child abuse and neglect. Research has shown, however, that risk factors exist making it more likely that certain children may be abused. These risk factors include

1.age: 67% of abused children are less than 1 year old; 80% are less than 3 years old;

2.past history of abuse: Repeated abuse has been shown to occur more than 50% of the time; repeatedly abused children have a 10% chance of sustaining a lethal event;

3.children with learning disabilities, speech/language disorders and mental retardation;

4.children with congenital anomalies (malformations) and chronic/recurrent conditions; and

5.adopted and foster children. Complicating the collection of data is the general underreporting of child abuse. Very young children are incapable of verbally communicating the harm inflicted on them. Other factors such as fear, guilt, or confusion about the abuser's erratic behavior may also hinder younger children from informing on their abuser.

Is there an association between poverty and child abuse
Is there an association between poverty and child abuse?

While children of families in all income levels suffer maltreatment, research suggests that family income is strongly related to incidence rates. Children from families with annual incomes below $15,000 per year are more than 25 times more likely than children from families with annual income above $30,000 to be harmed or endangered by abuse or neglect. Poverty clearly predisposes to child abuse. Currently, social scientists are questioning the previous interpretation of such data. Recently new research is challenging this belief. Some argue that poor families have increased contact with reporting agencies -- social workers, police, etc. Some also argue that affluent families are more often given the "benefit of the doubt" by those who might be more suspicious of poorer means. In addition, wealthier families are felt to have a better access to legal counsel that, realistically or not, provide an "escape hatch" from investigation and prosecution.

Who abuses children?

According to the statistics, the majority of perpetrators of child mistreatment (77%) are parents and another 11% are other relatives of the victim. People who are in other caretaking relationships to the victim (for example, child-care providers, foster parents, and facility staff) account for only 2% of the offenders. About 10% of all perpetrators are classified as non-caretakers or unknown. In many states, child abusers by definition must be in a caretaking role.

An estimated 81% of all offenders are under age 40. Overall, approximately 61% of perpetrators are female, although the gender of the abuser differs by the type of mistreatment. Neglect and medical neglect are most often attributed to female caretakers, while sexual abuse is most often associated with male offenders.

Are people who were abused as children more likely to become criminals later in life
What more can be done to prevent child neglect?

As children's advocates, we wish to remind parents about the importance of preventative child health care, including: proper use of car seats and seat belts; consistent use of helmets for bicycling, skateboarding, and skiing/snowboarding;

pool and water safety;

firearm safety;

preventing community violence; and

poisoning prevention.

Are people who were abused as children more likely to become criminals later in life?

According to a 2005 study sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), maltreatment in childhood increases the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 59% and as an adult by 28%. Abuse as a child also increases the prospect of arrest for a violent crime by 30%.

For females, being abused or neglected in childhood raises the likelihood of arrest by 77%. A related 1994 NIJ study indicated that children who were sexually abused were 28 times more likely than a control group of non-abused children to be arrested for prostitution as an adult.

A 1997 U.S. Department of Justice study sampled 1,000 urban youths in seventh and eighth grades. Childhood abuse and neglect provided a 25% increased risk factor for serious delinquency (assaults, drug use), poor school performance, symptoms of mental illness, and pregnancy. Interestingly, the risk of lesser forms of delinquency (for example, underage drinking) were not increased.

Child Abuse At A Glance Child abuse is a serious national problem involving all economic, ethnic, racial, and religious groups. Children are abused predominantly by parents, but other caregivers (babysitter) are not infrequent offenders. The major types of child abuse are physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect. Child neglect is the most frequent type of child abuse and the most lethal. If any suspicion of child abuse or neglect exists, a report should be filed with the appropriate agency. Good-faith reports are immune from prosecution. A local system for timely investigation and evaluation should be incorporated in all cases of child maltreatment. Prevention (education and counseling) is the best approach for the management of child abuse and neglect. For additional information on child abuse, neglect, and child welfare, try the following sites:

Administration for Children and Families (http://www.acf.dhhs.gov)

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that brings together the broad range of federal programs and services that address the needs of children and families.

Children's Bureau (http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/)

The Children's Bureau is the oldest federal agency specifically charged with the responsibility of looking after the well-being of the nation's children. The bureau helps the states to deliver child-welfare services, such as the protection of children and the strengthening of families (child protective services), family preservation and support, foster care, adoption, and independent living.

Missing Children Web Page (http://www.missingkids.com/)

Search the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's (NCMEC) database of current missing children cases and view images of missing children. Their missing children forum, another site feature, aids in finding missing and exploited children, supporting families whose children are missing, and offering child-safety assistance. Members can speak with each other and with NCMEC representatives about the images in the forum's libraries.

National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) (http://www.health.org)

One of the largest federal clearinghouses and the world's largest resource for information and materials on substance abuse, the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) is the information arm of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (Department of Health and Human Services). Services offered by NCADI include: an information services staff to respond to public inquiries on alcohol, tobacco, and drugs (ATD); distribution of over 450 free or low-cost materials on ATD, such as fact sheets, posters, monographs, and video tapes; referrals to prevention, intervention, and treatment resources; access to the Prevention Materials and the Treatment Resources Databases; and federal grant announcements for ATD-related projects.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) (http://www.ncjrs.org)

Visit the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Web site, Justice Information Center (JIC), for a collection of clearinghouses providing information on criminal and juvenile justice issues. The categories offered are: corrections, courts, crime prevention, criminal-justice statistics, drugs and crime, international, juvenile justice, law enforcement, research and evaluation, and victims. In addition, JIC offers "New This Week" and "Current Highlights" pages.

National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (http://www.ndacan.cornell.edu)

The mission of the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect is to facilitate the secondary analysis of research data relevant to the study of child abuse and neglect. The archive's primary activity is the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of high-quality data sets related to the study of child abuse and neglect. Their Web site provides a listing and brief description of all the studies in the archive ,along with ordering information. Information on archive publications and upcoming training institutes and workshops is also offered.

National Indian Child Welfare Association (http://www.nicwa.org)

The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) serves American Indian tribes throughout the country by helping to strengthen and enhance their capacity to deliver quality child-welfare services. Among the activities in which NICWA engages are community development, public-policy development, and information exchange.

Child Welfare Information Gateway: Statistics and Interventions (http://www.childwelfare.gov)

Previously, this organization was called the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. It's an excellent resource covering prevention, responding to child abuse, and supporting and preserving families.

References:

Child Maltreatment -- 2005 U.S. Department of Human and Health Services http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm05/cm05.pdf

American Humane Association http://www.americanhumane.org

Physical Abuse in Children: Epidemiology and Clinical Manifestations http://www.UptoDate.com

Child Abuse: Social and Medicolegal Issues http://www.UptoDate.com

Child Neglect and Emotional Abuse http://www.UptoDate.com

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy http://www.UptoDate

at is the difference between antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy
at is the difference between antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy?

Psychopathy, although not a mental health disorder formally recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, is considered to be a more severe form of antisocial personality disorder. Specifically, in order to be considered a psychopath, also called a sociopath, an individual must experience a lack of remorse of guilt about their actions in addition to demonstrating antisocial behaviors. While statistics indicate that 50%-80% of incarcerated individuals have been found to have antisocial personality disorder, only 15% of those convicted criminals have been shown to have the more severe antisocial personality disorder type of psychopathy.

Psychopaths tend to be highly suspicious or paranoid, even in comparison to individuals with antisocial personality disorder. The implications of this suspicious stance can be dire, in that paranoid thoughts (ideations) tend to lead the psychopathic person to interpret all aggressive behaviors toward them, even those that are justified, as being arbitrary and unfair. A televised case study of a psychopath provided a vivid illustration of the resulting psychopathic anger. Specifically, the criminal featured in the story apparently abducted a girl and sexually abused her over the course of a number of days in an attempt to prove to investigating authorities that his stepdaughter's allegations that he sexually abused her were false.

What are causes and risk factors of antisocial personality disorder?

Comment on this Share Your Story One of the most frequently asked questions about antisocial personality disorder by both professionals and laypeople is whether or not it is genetic. Many wonder if it is hereditary, just as much as hair, eye, or skin color; if this were the case, children of antisocial people would be highly expected to become antisocial themselves, whether or not they live with the antisocial parent. Fortunately, human beings are just not that simple. Like all personality disorders, and most mental disorders, antisocial personality disorder tends to be the result of a combination of biologic/genetic and environmental factors.

Although there are no clear biological causes for this disorder, research on the possible biologic risk factors for developing antisocial personality disorder indicates that, in those with antisocial personality disorder, the part of the brain that is primarily responsible for learning from one's mistakes and for responding to sad and fearful facial expressions (the amygdala) tends to be smaller and respond less robustly to the happy, sad, or fearful facial expressions of others. That lack of response may have something to do with the lack of empathy that antisocial individuals tend to have with the feelings, rights, and suffering of others. While some individuals may be more vulnerable to developing antisocial personality disorder as a result of their particular genetic background, that is thought to be a factor only when the person is also exposed to life events such as abuse or neglect that tend to put the person at risk for development of the disorder. Similarly, while there are some theories about the role of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and other hormonal fluctuations in the development of antisocial personality disorder, the disorder can, so far, not be explained as the direct result of such abnormalities.

Other conditions that are thought to be risk factors for antisocial personality disorder include substance abuse, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), reading disorder, or conduct disorder, which is diagnosed in children. People who experience a temporary or permanent brain dysfunction, also called organic brain damage, are at risk for developing violent or otherwise criminal behaviors. Theories regarding the life experiences that increase the risk for developing antisocial symptoms in teenagers and adults provide important clues for its prevention. Examples of such life experiences include a history of prenatal drug exposure or malnutrition, childhood physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; neglect; deprivation or abandonment; associating with peers who engage in antisocial behavior; or a parent who is either antisocial or alcoholic.