WHO ARE ABUSERS?

• WHAT ABUSE DOES TO CHILDREN

• LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF ABUSE

Abusers are family, friends and neighbors. As described by the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse:

"It is a sad irony that many abusers genuinely love their children, but they find themselves caught in life situations beyond their control and they do not know how to cope. They are often isolated from friends and family and may have no one to give them emotional support. They may not like themselves and may not know how to get their emotional needs met" (National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse).

Child abuse happens in all socio-economic, racial, ethnic and religious groups although it is now known that it does not occur equally over all groups (Fryer, 1990).

   WHAT ABUSE DOES TO CHILDREN

Children who have been physically, sexually and/or emotionally abused not only suffer a wide range of effects from their victimization, but are at greater risk to be abused again.

Abuse commonly produces feelings of:

• guilt
• violation
• loss of control
• lowered self-esteem.

Even those who seem to be handling their abuse are concerned that:

• it might happen again
• they did something wrong
• future relationships might be abusive

   LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF ABUSE

Common problems for abused children include:

• emotional problems
• behavioral problems
• poor performance in school
• further abuse

While these effects are not always obvious, they are important.

Long-term studies of low achievers, runaways, drug abusers, prostitutes and incarcerated individuals paint a disturbing picture. Abuse is a consistent and pervasive element in their backgrounds. Low self-esteem and poor self-concept are ever-present.

Knowing this, there can be little doubt that children who are abused, as well as adults who were abused as children, need assistance to resolve the questions that the abuse experience has raised, even if that assistance does not come until years after the abuse.

The RECOVERY Program was designed and written to accomplish this from a life-skills and educational perspective.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON

OTHER CHILD ABUSE SUBJECTS,

RETURN TO CHILD ABUSE PAGE

 

 

Copyright © 1996 -2008 Coalition for Children, Inc., Sherryll Kraizer, Ph.D.