The Effects of Child Abuse

             Child abuse is commonly known as a great problem within modern American families. It is estimated that around 9 to 10 million children under the age of 18 experience some sort of child abuse, and the rate is increasing each year. The most important aspect of child abuse is the effect it has on the victims. Children who experience child abuse often cannot function properly in the real world. Child abuse has physical, social, and psychological effects on children that disable them to function normally, which is a great threat to the ideal American family. Therefore, it is important to understand the effects so that child abuse could be prevented.
             The most obvious effect of child abuse is simply the physical aspect. Children who experience physical child abuse often have several bruises and cuts, even broken bones. Many hospitals often see burns and welts, sprains, and even stab wounds resulting from the child abuse. However, the most serious effect is head damage. Head wounds can cause brain damage and permanent impairment. According to certain studies, it has been shown that several children who received head damage caused by child abuse have smaller hippocampus, which is a structure in the brain that helps in memory storage. Theories suggest this decrease in size to be caused by the secretion of certain hormones in the brain during and after abuse. It is debatable whether this is brain "damage" or just an "adaptation" to child abuse. Whichever it may be, it is extremely harmful to children and disrupts their functionability.
             Child abuse has eminent social effects on several aspects of the victims' life. Abused children often becomes withdrawn and depressed after being assaulted. Children who are exposed to regular assaults tend to develop very antisocial behavior. They become more aggressive resulting in the harm of peers and in adulthood, harming their own children. They have proble...

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The Effects of Child Abuse. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:21, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/15889.html