Research Paper Part II (Literature Review) I will attached 1 Research papers that's written and 1 empericial study. You will take both papers and combind and tweek them into one final literature review paper of 10 pages. Plus References, citations, APA

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT 2

Child Abuse and Neglect

Introduction

Child welfare is one of the special areas of practice in social work. It is special in the context in which the principles and values that govern the social work profession align with policies that guide child welfare organizations. Child abuse is one of the major universal social problems that impact children from all types and levels of society. Child abuse can have a significant impact on the child's personality growth. More so, it can affect the child's adult behavior in later life. Therefore, it the role of the social workers to study the causes of abuse and treatment. Underlaying the efforts is the belief that all societies are responsible for creating an abuse-free society (Zeanah & Humphreys, 2018). This study aims to evaluate factors related to childhood abuse and neglect and social workers' role in alleviating the problem.

Nature and scope of child abuse and neglect

Child abuse is a devastating social problem in society. While the legal definition of child abuse and neglect may vary across different states, there are four recognized classifications of child abuse and neglect. They are sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, and neglect. They neglect medical, educational, and other forms of neglect. Almost 700 000 children are abused every year in the United States. That is about 1 percent of the total number of kids. In 2019, it was estimated that 1770 children in the United States died because of child abuse and neglect. However, the data is incomplete because there are likely to be a lot of unreported cases (Krugman & Poland, 2019). The most prone victims of abuse and neglect are the youngest children. That is children who are in the first year of their life. WWW points out that in 2019 children of 3 years and below experienced a mistreatment rate of 16 per 1000. For children aged 4 to 7 years, the mistreatment rate was 12 per 1000 population. For 8 to 11 years, the mistreatment rate was at 8 per 1000 population. The mistreatment rate goes on decreasing as the children age up. It is the responsibility of child welfare authorities to ensures the safety of children in the country.

Historical Background

For a long time, children have been considered as the property of their parents. Therefore, this notion assumes that parents hold the power of life and death over their children. Throughout history, there have been social provisions that seek to protect orphans and the abandoned children from abuse and neglect. The provisions covered only the orphans and the disabled. However. It is in the last 150 years that the state has made efforts to protect the rights of children by overriding the rights of parents. That means that during the era of the industrial revolution and the invention and introduction of compulsory education attendance, most children from the age of 10 years and above led their lives not far similar to that of adults. However, even though things have changed in the modern generation, there remains a contest between children's rights and parental rights in children's welfare (Wright, 2017).

McGuigan et al., 2018, points out that while working on the topic of child abuse and neglect, it is important to consider cultural issues because some cultures have high tolerant levels than others. Different cultures have a varied age of adulthood, sexual maturity, and engaging in activities that can be considered a crime. Different cultures discipline their children in different ways. There is some culture in which the form of discipline is more severe than in other cultures.

Contextual and Societal factors that influence child abuse and neglect

Metcalfe et al., 2019, points out that there are varied models that focus on addressing the etiology of child mistreatment. However, there has been no enough empirical evidence to validate the commonly held belief that parental personality traits or psychopathology factors such as illness contribute to child abuse and neglect. However, there are several factors that have been a link to child maltreatment. Hoft and Haddad, 2017, point out that most maltreating parents are socially isolated. Social isolation is often characterized by a lack of poor social skills. Thus, social isolation leads to stressful moments that eventually generate alternative means to fill the gap. Violence is one of the means.

Hoft and Haddad, 2017, point out that poverty is a strong factor that is associated with child neglect. However, it is important to note that poverty does not equate to child neglect. It does not mean that parents lack the capacity to love and care for their children because they are poor. However, poverty restrains parents from meeting some of their children's needs. Studies show that children from a family earning $ 25,000 in 2020 were 15 times more likely to experience varied forms of neglect than children from families earning $ 35 000 and above. This indicates that poverty has a strong correlation with child neglect.

Wright, 2017, points out that dissatisfaction with the role of parenting is another factor that is related to child abuse. The presented evidence argues that maltreating parents are non-accommodative to their children's behavior. They usually perceive a sense of hostility in their children's behavior, unlike so non-maltreating parents. More so, maltreating parents tend to find parenting less enjoyable and difficult than non-maltreating parents.

Researching child mistreatment is important because the study provides scientific information that can be utilized to solve a lot of individual and societal disorders. Child abuse and neglect precipitate problems such as poor academic performance, depression, deviant sexual behaviors, delinquency, etc. Second, the research is important because it provides insights and knowledge on how to help the victims of child abuse and neglect. Third, the research serves to reduce long-term economic costs directed in treating the effects of child abuse and neglect, such as mental issues and violence cases. Fourth, the research presents empirical evidence that can be utilized to improve the quality of service in legal and child welfare organizations. Child welfare advocates, social service personnel, judges, etc., make a lot of decisions entailing child abuse and neglect. It is by making informed decisions that there can be effective in improving outcomes of cases related to child abuse. Lastly, it is by studying the etiology of child abuse and mistreatment that a scientific-based program to prevent the incidence can be established (Bartlett et al., 2017). The program will serve to counteract factors that breed child abuse and neglect in coming generations.

The role of social workers

What is the role of social workers in addressing child abuse and neglect? Social workers make a professional taskforce responsible for offering therapeutical programs to the victims of abuse and their families. More so, they also work together with the perpetrators and their families. They serve in conducting a clinical evaluation of the victims by utilizing diagnostic measures. Also, the conduct forensic investigations of the cause of abuse and evaluate the patterns of abuse. It is by doing so that they are able to detect the likelihood of the reoccurrence of abuse and neglect from serious perpetrators. The identification of such patterns is hugely important because it helps in putting in the right measures before the next incidence could occur. The other role is to make reports to parents, schools, courts, and child protection agencies so that better measures and policies can be implemented to curb the issue. Lastly, they offer counseling and psychosocial therapy to individuals, families, and groups involved in child abuse and neglect cases (McGuigan et., 2018).

Conclusion

Child abuse and neglect is a serious problem in the society. People have shifted from rural to urban life, where it is more sophisticated to track instances of child abuse and neglect. Improved mechanisms and strategies need to be put in place to match the sophistication and ensure that our society is free from child abuse and neglect.

Reference

Bartlett, J. D., Kotake, C., Fauth, R., & Easterbrooks, M. A. (2017). Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: Do maltreatment type, perpetrator, and substantiation status matter? Child abuse & neglect, 63, 84-94.

Hoft, M., & Haddad, L. (2017). Screening children for abuse and neglect: A review of the literature. Journal of forensic nursing, 13(1), 26-34.

Krugman, R. D., & Poland, L. (2019). Disrupting social norms: Eliminating child abuse and neglect in our lifetime. Child and adolescent social work journal, 36(1), 15-17.

McGuigan, W. M., Luchette, J. A., & Atterholt, R. (2018). Physical neglect in childhood as a predictor of violent behavior in adolescent males. Child Abuse & Neglect, 79, 395-400.

Metcalfe, R. E., Guidinger, C. L., & Stormshak, E. A. (2021). The Family Check-Up: Ecological Family-Based Assessments in the Context of Potential Child Abuse or Chaotic Home Environments. Journal of Health Service Psychology, 1-13.

Wright, K. (2017). Remaking collective knowledge: An analysis of the complex and multiple effects of inquiries into historical institutional child abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 74, 10-22.

Zeanah, C. H., & Humphreys, K. L. (2018). Child abuse and neglect. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(9), 637-644.