Affects Of Child Abuse

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The significance of the presence of PTSD symptoms cannot be understated. This can often be a parent's first indication of a serious problem that the child cannot verbalize, whether due to lack of understanding or due to fear of further hurt. But very frequently parents overlook this telltale indicator. Read back through that list of symptoms and realize that if your child is demonstrating some of these, you do need to carefully, with prayer for Spirit-led guidance, find out whether your child has been harmed.

There are a couple more symptoms that can be part of PTSD, too. PTSD can hide under a diagnosis of ADHD/ADD. Not all ADHD/ADD is a result of abuse. But inability to concentrate, extreme fidgeting, and inability to be still or silent can all result from a deep unconscious desire to run away from the memories and feelings locked inside. These can be mechanisms to try to bury the thoughts and memories with activity or noise. Another PTSD symptom can be compulsive self-destructive behavior. This is an unconscious compulsion to bring the buried emotional pain to the surface as physical pain in an effort to ease it by making it tangible. This is another manifestation of the same compulsion that expresses itself in suicidal thoughts or attempts.

If a parent does not recognize PTSD for what it means, it is quite likely to continue into or to recur in adulthood. When it recurs in adulthood it can be quite unnerving (because of its sudden and debilitating onset and results) and may have even more dangerous consequences. Many people who are unable to gain true healing for their abusive pasts will live the remainder of their lives in an emotionally crippled, debilitated state, unable to ever achieve their full potential due in part to ongoing effects of PTSD and the other long-term affects of childhood abuse. -- Danette Tucker

EMOTIONAL AND VERBAL ABUSE & ABUSE BY NEGLECT

Used by permission from Broken Spirits Network

Abuse of children is not limited to the physical body. Children who are repeatedly called names, insulted, belittled, intimidated, rejected, criticized, terrorized, or corrupted by those upon whom they are dependent for nurturance have little opportunity to develop any sense of self-worth.

Emotional abuse may also be the result of actions not directed specifically at the child. The prevalence of domestic and community violence exposes children to intimidating and frightening scenes every day. A study at Boston City Hospital found that one in ten children living in an inner city neighborhood had observed a shooting or a knifing by the age of six; half of these incidents occurred in the home and half in the streets. Studies have shown that when children live in homes in which domestic violence is a problem, 75-87% of them witness the violence and 40-60% of them experience abuse themselves, often as a result of being "caught in the middle" of a parental altercation. Children who observe violence react with many of the same psychological symptoms as children who have experienced it directly.

Neglect

Children who are not provided with basic food, shelter, and clothing to the best of their parent's ability are considered neglected. Not surprisingly, neglect is more prevalent in areas of extreme poverty than in other socioeconomic strata. Neglect may be evidenced in undernourishment or failure to thrive. Children may not be able to attend or learn in school because of lack of food or sleep. They may develop rashes or infections that go untreated. Failure to send children to school or otherwise provide for their education may also be considered neglect.

It is important to remember that there are often multiple factors to consider when discussing the results of child abuse. Abuse seldom occurs in isolation; there may be other problems in the family such as alcoholism or the stress of unemployment. Children may also experience multiple forms of abuse. Children may or may not have a supportive relationship with another adult to whom they can turn for support. Children may be abused for an acute period before there is some intervention, or they may experience the trauma chronically and for many years. The child's age and resources, the kind of relationship between the child and the perpetrator, the length and chronicity of the abuse, and the availability of therapy or other intervention services are all factors that contribute to the wide range of long- and short-term outcomes associated with child abuse.

Nonetheless, most children who have been abused experience some symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). [See prior section about PTSD.] PTSD in children and adolescents may be acute or delayed, that is, the child may experience symptoms immediately or after a period of time has passed, perhaps when the child feels safe. Symptoms may include re-experiencing the abusive episodes at some level, feeling emotionally numb, or becoming physiologically aroused (elevated heart rate, respiration, and so forth). Children may experience disassociation and appear to "space out" when reminded of the abuse or perpetrator. They may have physical symptoms. They may become enraged or feel guilty at having provoked the episodes or survived them. They may have invasive memories, repeated behaviors, or fears related to the abusive situations. They may act out some of their issues in play -- punishing the bad guy or victimizing another character while playing with dolls or action figures. In severe cases of chronic trauma, the child may develop serious or prolonged disassociation or depression. Severe and chronic abuse has also been implicated in cases of multiple personality disorder.

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."
Mt. 7:16-18

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