Abused children develop psychological problems

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Friday, Aug 17, 2012
New Straits Times


They cry and take the full blow and impact of physical abuse as their young bodies are still fragile and they succumb easily to the injuries inflicted upon them.


Violence against children happens within the walls of homes, schools, children's homes and childcare centres, to name a few.


Malaysian Council for Child Welfare vice-president Datuk Dr Raj Abdul Karim said: "We are not only speaking of physical abuse. There are so many other forms of abuse and some go on for years without being detected. Neglect, deprivation of food and basic needs, emotional, psychological and mental abuse and sexual abuse are all examples.





"Abusers can be a family member, caregiver or even a teacher. For older children, beatings or abuse are usually meted out as a form of discipline."


In the case of babies and young children, the abuse is brought about by stress or anger caused by marital, financial and household or work-related problems. Young children are often abused as a result of relationship problems in dysfunctional families.


"We often hear of young children being physically abused by their stepfather or their mother's boyfriend. This is because there is anger or frustration or jealousy towards the child thought to be competing for the mother's attention."


She said drugs could also be a catalyst for family members to abuse their children.


Caregivers suffering from depression or have mental health disorders, or those who have quick tempers, are other reasons.


Family members, relatives or neighbours must be aware of the warning signs and seek help before the situation worsened, she said.


Early Childhood Care and Education Council president Prof Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng said abused children had the tendency to blame themselves.


"They will develop guilt and decreasing self-worth. Abused children will adopt a fearful or defensive personality."


She said the consequences of abuse were pain, fear, anxiety, low self-esteem, short attention span and a lack of social skills.


She added that psychological abuse was more difficult to detect.


"We can see if a child is psychologically abused when the child is timid, fearful and does not show interest in anything."


Psychological abuse could damage the child's brain, and unlearning the hurt inflicted was almost impossible.


"Fear, anxiety, frustrations and insecurity generate stress, and exposure to prolonged stress produces toxic stress. The heightened level of cortisol, a hormone generated because of toxic stress, will affect the architecture of the brain."


Dr Chiam said the area most sensitive to cortisol was the one involving emotions and learning.


She said toxic stress caused children to develop a generalised fear, making them see the world as a threatening place.


"This will lead to long-term behavioural and emotional problems." http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode


http://www.yourhealth.com.sg/content/abused-children-develop-psychological-problems