Derrick Rose

October 11, 2015

Cynthia Hamlett
English 102
The Blue Squares: The Lasting Effects of Child Abuse
Imagine running, trying to get away, not being fast enough. Imagine when happens when
upon being caught, a beating? An injury? Mutilation, or worse? Imagine being hungry,
but not being able to find any food to eat, looking around inside of a barren, dirty
household. Unfortunately this is the case when speaking about many children worldwide,
child abuse takes many forms, and sadly it is more common than one would think.
However, that raises the question, What is child abuse? this is a somewhat
controversial topic. For our purposes, we will describe child abuse as, Sexual abuse,
emotional abuse, and physical neglect. According to the Encyclopedia of Motherhood,
one in ten children are physically punished in a way that can put them at risk for serious
injury. There are many forms of child abuse, but at this time, we will focus on physical
abuse. Physical child abuse accounts for half of early childhood deaths (before the age of
seven) [Pritchard 298]. Whether it is neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, or sexual
abuse, the psychological effects of child abuse to the victim are severe, and may last an
entire lifetime. Child abuse is a potential harm to society, as well as a direct harm to the
child.
Lets start with physical neglect; physical neglect takes place when the parent or
guardian neglects the childs needs. Neglect can be if a parent does not provide proper
sanitary housing conditions, food, clothing, supervision, or education. It is confirmed that

physical neglect is linked with delinquency and drug abuse problems later on in life
[Tuscic 27]. The thing about physical neglect is that it the chances of it happening decline
with age, usually victims of child neglect are under the age of 5. Three year olds are very
susceptible, however, infants are also among the most susceptible. When addressing
neglect, it is most commonly found within single parent homes, usually with unsafe
housing, where the inhabitants are constantly running out of money [Afifi 319].Next
there is emotional abuse, unlike neglect, is not the most common, and it would take a
very cruel person to do so, according to the Encyclopedia of Motherhood, emotional
child abuse involves any words or actions that can lead the child to believe that they are
worthless, unloved, or inadequate. There are six major types of emotional abuse
including, spurning which includes hostile rejection. Malcolm X was no stranger to
spurning as he was repetitively rejected violently by many white Americans. After a
while, he began to develop a dislike, as well as distrust for all white people [X 68]. This
phenomenon can be compared to that of an abuse victim who grows to hate those that
hurt them [Afifi 318]. Terrorizing the child which is telling them that youll hurt or kill
them if they dont do what you would like them to do, or act the way that you would
prefer for them to behave.
The next kind of emotional abuse is called, Isolating which is basically taking the child
away from other childhood activities. Next we have, denying the child emotional
responsiveness this kind of abuse is almost a form of neglect, and it is essentially
ignoring the child, and not giving the child the emotional responsiveness that he or she
deserves.
Next we have, exploiting the child which is asking that the child help you while doing

something illegal, and finally last but certainly not least, not being able to meet the
childs medical needs.
Lets look at emotional abuse. the risk for emotional abuse raises with age, a child from 717 is more likely to be emotionally abused than a child who is younger than seven. Since
emotional abuse has only recently been considered a real form of abuse there is
significantly less data on its effects. However, it has been discovered that emotional
abuse occurs roughly 20% less in single parent homes, generally in safe, well off
households, that are not overcrowded [Afifi 319]. Some immediate consequences of
emotional abuse on a child are low self-respect, anger, aggression, trouble developing
confidence at the speed of their non-abused counterparts, and attachment disorders. Later
on in life, if that individual has not received help, one may observe them experiencing
depression, suicidal tendencies, trouble maintaining lasting relationships, and a tendency
towards drug addictions and substance abuse [Tusic 30]. Emotionally abusive parents
tend to avoid medical check ups, be bad problem solvers, and not take the advice of a
doctor. Of course with all of these different types of abuse and the fact that many children
face them, they are bound to have a profound effect on the psychological condition of the
victim. The mind of a child is very vulnerable, and susceptible to change as well as
damage. According to, Single versus Multi-Type Maltreatment: An Examination of the
Long-Term Effects
Of Child Abuse. Forms of abuse with significant negative repercussions include physical
abuse, and sexual abuse.
Physical and sexual abuse entails beating the child to the point of an injury risk, or any
sexual contact between an adult and a minor. People with a history of physical abuse

(with or without sexual abuse) were more likely to have lower self-esteem. Even into
their teenage years theyve showed more delinquent behaviors. Later on in life they will
be the demographic with the highest rate of life threatening behaviors [Mikton 354].
Physical abuse takes place in a two-parent household, with a stable source of income
[Afifi 319]. The effects of physical and sexual abuse are numerous, and it can happen
anywhere. Children are rendered helpless due to their stature, as well as their socioeconomic dependency.
According to Afifi, children are actively engaged in a psychological dissociation during
intense, early, and constant trauma. Those children actively disengage from any
meaningful feeling of fear or pain. If the child were to be fully present during that
encounter they would be overwhelmed. A childs brain is marvelous. The dissociation
will help the child survive the painful experiences. However, because that information
cannot be processed or thought about, no knowledge due to the experience can be gained.
Interestingly, many violent criminals pathologically dissociate themselves. Out of 65
criminals, the pathologically dissociated criminals committed the most violent crimes
(serial rape, stabbing victims in their eyes, decapitation, gagging and bounding victims to
kill them with a baseball bat). One thing that these 11 criminals had in common was they
were all physically abused as children. Another thing that five out of the eleven criminals
had in common was the fact that they claimed amnesia, that they could not remember
committing those crimes, because their brain somehow used the same dissociation that
was employed as children to protect them, to be able to commit those heinous atrocities.
The same dissociation occurs during sexual abuse. [Tuscic 25]
When a child is abused, that child carries feelings of worthlessness and depression and

associates them with abuse for as long as they live. Prompting higher rates of delinquent
behavior, we still cant overlook he fact that some mothers are only looking out for their
children. Perhaps due to cultural norms, some parents and families think that certain
forms of, tough love is a normal part of childhood. There is a difference between abuse
and tough love. According to Zelda G. Knight, in her article on serial killers, it is the task
of the guardian to provide support for the child when bad affects are experienced.
However, usually it is the guardians who are abusing the children. When this happens, the
victim feels helpless, as though they have no ability to ever make a change within the
environment. This may be a key in the puzzle to understanding why serial killers try to
reclaim their power by way of murder. To them, murder is the ultimate act of impacting
the word and being dominant in some way.
In many cases during the sexual assault of a child, their psychosexual growth may have
been derailed and thrown to a strange, dark place. Because of this, some serial killers are
sexually driven, using sex as a go to for their homicidal tendencies. The idea of sexual
serial killing is not just about sex, but also it can be about empowerment, and vengeance.
The idea is that serial killers are sub consciously in an attempt to kill their repressed
sexual pain and powerlessness. Every strike into their victims body is a cut at the sexual
hurt and fear that they were subjected to as a child. The rage that comes with that whole
situation is a rage against everyone tortured them and terrorized them [Knight 1199].
According to Abrahamsen, all killers are held hostage by their own inner conflict. In his
own words, The prime marks of a murderer are a sense of helplessness, impotence, and
nagging revenge carried over from early childhood. Just like the strange dissociation, or
the psychological troubles that people have following child abuse. Killers and cold-

blooded murders have experienced the same phenomenon.

Whatever kind of abuse it may be, the results of child abuse are deeper than low selfesteem, and the inability to maintain lasting relationships. Child abuse will not only affect
the child, who has to live with the consequences of someone elses actions for the rest of
their life. Child abuse can also affect everyday people, in strange ways that no one would
have thought, sometimes those strange actions can even be attributed to internalized
repression, and the person themselves may not remember the traumatic experience, or
even why they act a certain way. Many times, due to their insecurities, abused children
are quiet. However, still waters run deep. No matter who shares day-to-day interactions, it
would be a good idea to remember that everyone is different, and that different life
experiences shape different frames of reference. So if someone is grumpy, or insecure, or
strange, be patient, and be kind, because they may never reveal what they are thinking, or
they may never remember what makes them act this way.

Works Cited:
Afifi, Tracie O., et al. "Substantiated Reports Of Child Maltreatment From The Canadian
Incidence Study Of Reported Child Abuse And Neglect 2008: Examining Child
And Household Characteristics And Child Functional Impairment." Canadian
Journal Of Psychiatry 60.7 (2015): 315-323.
JELIC TUSCIC, Swea, Gordana BULJAN FLANDER, and Dragana MATESKOVIC.
"The Consequences Of Childhood Abuse." Pedijatrija Danas: Pediatrics Today
9.1 (2013): 24-35. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
Knight, Zelda G. "Some Thoughts On The Psychological Roots Of The Behavior Of
Serial Killers As Narcissists: An Object Relations Perspective." Social Behavior
& Personality: An International Journal 34.10 (2006): 1189-1206. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.

Mikton, Christopher, and Alexander Butchart. "Child Maltreatment Prevention: A

Systematic Review Of Reviews." Bulletin Of The World Health Organization 87.5
(2009): 353-361. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
Pritchard, Colin, and Ann Sharples. "Violent Deaths Of Children In England And Wales
And The Major Developed Countries 19742002: Possible Evidence Of
Improving Child Protection?." Child Abuse Review 17.5 (2008): 297-312.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
X, Malcolm. Coming to an Awareness of Language. Coming to an Awareness of
Language. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 67-69. Print.