To most of us child abuse is unthinkable; who could possibly abuse a child? And the worse the abuse is the harder it is to imagine, yet the number of child abuse cases is much higher than you may think. The plight of exploited children crosses all ethnicity and social classes, with the overwhelming amount of abuse coming from those who are supposed to be protecting the child from abuse.

Child abuse can happen in several ways, but no matter what type of abuse it is, emotional, sexual or physical, the result is the same; either serious physical and/or emotional pain. Sexual or physical abuse is possibly the most noticeable type of abuse as they leave physical signs and evidence behind. But, emotional child abuse neglect is a serious form of abuse that may be more subtle, making it difficult to spot. Neglect is actually the most common form of abuse.

There are many risk factors that may increase the chance of a parent abusing their child; such as their own history of child abuse. The patterns of abuse they learned in childhood are often the same ones committed against their own children. Stress and a lack of support may also be risk factors as parenting is a challenging, difficult and time intensive job. Without help and support from family or friends a parent can begin to feel stressed and overwhelmed. And, if they are raising a child with special needs or mental health issues, then these feelings intensify.

As well, the children of parents or caregivers who have drug and/or alcohol addictions are also at risk of being abused, since these substances can cause serious lapses in judgment. Since they hinder impulse control it makes physical and emotional abuse much more likely. Because of the impairment that is caused by intoxication, drug and alcohol abuse often results in child neglect. Statistics indicate that as many as 80% of young adults who were abused or neglected in childhood met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder by the age of 21.

An additional risk factor of child abuse is when a child witnesses domestic violence, along with the instability and chaos that inevitably goes along with it; it is considered to be a form of emotional abuse. Often times this type of problem will escalate into physical violence directed at the child. All forms of neglect and abuse leave long lasting scars, both physical and emotional that damage a child’s self esteem; it may also hamper their chances of having healthy relationships as they grow older.

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