Dangers of Child Abuse
Dangers of Child Abuse
One million children become victims of child abuse each year. A major component of this physical abuse; harm to a child for which there is no reasonable explanation. Children exhibit multiple signs and symptoms of abuse. This paper illustrates how to accurately diagnose child abuse through obtaining an accurate history accompanied with a physical and radiological examination. Currently, prevention measures are being taken to increase awareness and educate the public in hopes of solving this problem.
Child abuse is the number one leading cause of death of a child. The National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse (NCPCA) defines child abuse as a non-accidental injury or pattern of injuries to a child, including physical abuse and neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. The statistics, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of physical abuse will show that child abuse is a major problem and help promote awareness in society today.
Statistics
Child abuse has become a national epidemic-more than one million children are confirmed victims of child abuse and neglect each year by state departments. A study conducted for the Federal Government, breaks abuse down to 300,000 children physically abused, 140,000 sexually abused and another 700,000 neglected and maltreated each year. These numbers represent a 41% increase between 1988 and 1997.
Many cases of physical abuse eventually result in death to the child. With the number of deaths increasing by 34% in the past decade, 1,200 children die each year as victims of abuse. This equates to at least three children a day. One half of abuse fatalities result form the physical form of abuse, generally from the parents in the home. Nearly all Fatalities occur at a very young age, with children remaining at high risk for loss of life until the age of five. The incidence of physical abuse generally decreases during early school years and increases again during adolescent years.
Physical abuse can be recognized nationally as well as internationally. It affects children of all ethnic groups and scoioeconomics status. There is not a dominant gender when discussing physical abuse. Many of those who are abused as children will later go on to abuse their own children. Being poor, sick or on drugs, also increases the risk of abuse.
Signs and Symptoms
A disturbance in behavior is a strong signal that the child is living in an...