Unfortunately today there are still many cases of child abuse, which It is undoubtedly an extremely alarming issue and to which we must pay close attention to society in general. Child abuse affects millions of children worldwide and, as is evident, has many consequences for those who have suffered or are suffering from it.
In this Psychology-Online article, we are going to know what are the consequences of child psychological abuse, we will explain the main types of child abuse and we will let you know what the characteristics of abusive parents and / or caregivers are.
There are several types of abuse, among them is psychological abuse, which we will focus on in this article. It is important to stay fully informed about this problem and to do our bit to eradicate it over time, but how can we do it? If we have children, know or live with children, it is important to be alert to any signs or suspicious symptom make it evident, as well as we can continue to inform ourselves and share our knowledge with other people.
Abuse physical
It is considered that a child is being physically abused when an adult exercises on him, either voluntarily or less voluntarily, actions that harm him. For example, carrying out behaviors that could end up causing you physical injuryRegardless of whether they are more or less serious, it is also considered abuse. Among them we can mention the blows, slaps, burns, shoves, kicks, etc.
Psychological or emotional abuse
It is one that is carried out most of the time through verbal behaviors or actions that directly affect the psyche of the minor. A very common example of this is children who are always criticized for everything they do, are verbally offended and hurt. On the other hand, there are also those that parents or caregivers put last in the scale of their priorities and interests, so that direct and / or indirectly they are communicating to them that they are not important, among many other types of actions issued by parents or caregivers that affect the emotional well-being of the boy.
Rape or sexual abuse
This type of child abuse is more common than is thought and, incredibly, it has been found that a higher percentage of the cases occurs within the family, which produces in the minor that this type of experience is even more traumatic.
Negligence
There are many parents and / or caregivers who do not carry out their role in the most appropriate way. For what they do not achieve meet even the child's basic needs, for example, they may be forgotten or they may simply not give importance to essential aspects such as the that the child has to eat, that he has to take a shower, that they do not provide him with a suitable environment to live, etc. Another type of neglect can be in the emotional area where the parents are too busy, not give importance or are simply not prepared to give it enough attention and affection that the child deserves.
As mentioned earlier, child abuse It is a subject of great importance and to which we must pay special attention. Next we are going to mention which ones with the main characteristics that make it evident that the parents or caregivers of the child are psychologically abusing them.
- Not caring the child in the right way, for example: leaving him at home alone, not meeting his needs basic, not taking him properly to school, not treating him when he is sick, among many other things.
- Shout, criticize and even insult the child frequently.
- Smear and humiliate the child in front of other people.
- Threaten to the minor constantly but does some behavior that is desired. For example, there are fathers and / or mothers who threaten their child by warning them that they will stop loving them if they do not do something they want, such as stop talking to their other parent. There are also others who may be threatening to beat them up if they don't behave or do something “in the right way”, and so on.
- Reject to the child directly and openly
- Show the child every day how little interest you have in him
- She behaves lovingly towards the child and then as if she hates him, causing constant confusion and frustration in the child.
The consequences suffered by children as a result of abuse occur not only physically but also psychologically, which can condition them to have an unsatisfactory life and this causes them to appear over time more and more problems in different areas of your life.
The sequelae of child psychological abuse They depend a lot on the time in which the child has been abused, the intensity of the abuse, who the abusers have been, the age of the minor as well as their maturity, among other things. So each case is different, however there are a series of consequences that occur in the short and long term.
Short-term consequences
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sleep problems where the child often has great difficulty sleeping
- Anxiety
- Physical discomfort, such as: headaches, stomachaches, etc.
- Shame and insecurity
- Problems interacting appropriately with other children their age
Long-term consequences
- In adolescence, problems related to the consumption of substances such as drugs and / or alcohol may appear
- Crime in youth
- In adulthood they may be more likely to commit crimes
- In adolescence and / or adulthood they may present some type of mental disorder such as: Borderline personality disorder, multiple personality disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, etc.
- Teenage pregnancy
- School dropout
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
