Campbell 1

Kathryn Campbell

Professor Dunham

English 1201

March 20, 2021

Literature Review

Each year Child Protection agencies receive and estimated three million referrals for

child abuse which involves nearly six million children, but there are many cases that never get

reported. (Shulte) Approximately thirty five percent of adults report that they experienced

childhood abuse or neglect. Studies have shown that traumas inflicted by paternal figures

increases the chances of psychological conditions forming including, anxiety, PTSD, and

depression disorders. (Curran et al) There is a large number of individuals being affected each

year by childhood trauma.

The first step to fully understanding the long-term effects child abuse and neglect would

have on a child is to understand how the federal law defines child abuse. According to the Child

Welfare Information Gateway the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act defines

child abuse and neglect as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker,

which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation” or “ an

act or failure to act which presents and imminent risk of serious harm.” Under these definitions a

child would be someone under the age of eighteen. Many states recognize for main types of

abuse in their definitions: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. (Child

Welfare)
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The National Epidemiologic Survey did a set of face to face surveys in two waves where

they asked a sample of 43,000 adults residing in the United States a set of questions. This study

found that 40% of those asked experienced emotional abuse, 35% experienced physical abuse,

and 11% experienced sexual abuse. It also found that thirty one percent of those involved in the

study delt with neglect by a parent or caregiver. (Curran Et Al) The majority of children in these

cases are younger than 5, and eighty percent of the perpetrators are biological parents. There are

three risk factors that can increase the chances of child abuse accruing: parental depression,

parental substance abuse and if the parent was abused as a child themselves. (Schulte)

The consequences of experiencing child abuse and neglect will vary, for some adults the

effects are debilitating, but other adults have far less adverse outcomes. Some factors that

influence the way child abuse and neglect affects adults may include, frequency, durations, and if

there was more then one type on abuse that occurred. To add to this many children who had to

deal with abuse at home also had to deal with other forms of victimization, such as bullying or

being assaulted by a peer at school. Research shows that those that experiences multiple types of

abuse are more likely to show high levels of trauma symptoms and have worse outcomes as an

adult that those who experiences either none or only one. (Child Family Community)

In recent years there has been many advances in brain science, and these advances can be

used to help us better understand how devastating the effects of abuse can be on the structure of

the brain. The part of the brain that regulates fear and anxiety, called the amygdala, has increased

reactivity if the individual has experienced trauma. This translate to impulsivity and an extremely

heighted response to threats. Exposure to emotional and verbal abuse led to issues with self-

awareness, self-evaluations, and facial recognition. The surprising thing is that all individuals
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that went through the abuse regardless of whether or not the showed psychiatric symptoms, had

the same fundamental defects in the brain architecture. (Patoine)

Depression is one of the most commonly occurring disorder that occurs in adults who

have experienced childhood trauma. In a study done in the United States it was found that adults

who have experienced childhood abuse and neglect are two and a half times more likely to have

depression and six more times more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder. These adults

also have a higher chance to develop a range of other disorders such at bipolar disorder, panic

disorders, eating disorders and drug abuse. This same study states that adults exposed to four or

more adverse childhood experiences are twelve times more likely to attempt suicide. (Child

Family Community)

Studies have shown that adults, and particularly woman, who where abused as a child are

at a higher risk of being abused again as an adult. The International Violence Against Women

Survey states that seventy two percent of women who experienced physical or sexual abuse as a

child was also exposed to violence as an adult. Also women who witness parental violence are

susceptible to these same situations. This is because these women are more likely to have low

self-esteem and they may have learnt that violence is a normal way to deal with conflict. (Child

Family Community)

The important thing to remember is that there is not one-size fits all answer here. Each

individual is going to learn to cope with their childhood trauma in different ways. While

pharmaceutical therapies don’t provide much help, talk therapies seem to be promising.

Programs that combine aspects of self-regulations and mindfulness such as Dialectical

Behavioral Therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. (Patoine) The young

mind is very resilient, and if the proper actions are taken to assure the safety of the child and they
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receive services to assist them in the recovery process. While we see negative changes to an

individual’s brain when they are abused, we can also see positive changes when the abuse ends

and the individual receives the love and support the deserve

Works Cited

Curran, Emma, et al. “Severity of Mental Illness as a Result of Multiple Childhood Adversities:

US National Epidemiologic Survey.” Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol.

51, no. 5, May 2016, pp. 647–657. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s00127-016-1198-3.

“Definitions of Child Abuse & Neglect - Child Welfare Information Gateway.” Child Welfare

Information Gateway, www.childwelfare.gov/topics/can/defining. Accessed 6 Mar.

2021.

“Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect for Adult Survivors.” Child Family Community Australia,

aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/effects-child-abuse-and-neglect-adult-survivors. Accessed 5

Mar. 2021.

Patoine, Brenda. “The Abused Brain” Dana Foundation, 26 Aug. 2019,

www.dana.org/article/the-abused-brain. Accessed 5 March 2021.

Schulte Brigid “Effects of child abuse and neglect, if untreated, can last a lifetime, study finds”

The Washington Post 12 September, 2013, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/new-

report-finds-that-untreated-the-effects-of-child-abuse-and-neglect-can-last-a-

lifetime/2013/09/12/1edc0bdc-1bc7-11e3-82ef-a059e54c49d0_story.html 5 March 2021