CHILD ABUSE and

ABANDONMENT

Bless Faith S. Santonia

RR41
 DEFINITION
 It is the intentional injury of a child.

It can include physical abuse or
injuries, neglect or failure to prevent
harm, failure to provide adequate
physical or emotional care or
supervision, abandonment, sexual
assault or intrusion, and overt
torture or maiming (Bernet, 2005).

 TYPES
Physical abuse


Øoften results from unreasonably corporal

punishment or unjustifiable punishment such as
hitting an infant for crying or soiling his or her
diapers
ØIntentional, deliberate assaults on children
include burning, biting, cutting, poking, twisting
limbs, or scalding with hot water.

 TYPES continued…

Sexual abuse


ØSexual acts performed by an adult on a child

younger than 18 years
Øexamples: incest, rape, sodomy, oral-genital
contact, and acts of molestation such as
rubbing, fondling, or exposing the adult’s
genitals
ØIt may also include exploitation, such as making,
promoting, or selling pornography involving
minors, and coercion of minors to participate in
obscene acts.

 TYPES continued…

Neglect
Ø
Ømalicious or ignorant withholding of physical,
emotional, or educational necessities for the
child’s well-being
ØMost prevalent type of maltreatment and
includes refusal to seek health care or delay
doing so; abandonment; inadequate
supervision; reckless disregard for the child’s
safety; punitive, exploitative, or abusive
emotional treatment; spousal abuse in the
child’s presence; giving the child permission
to be truant; or failing to enroll the child in
school

 TYPES continued…

Psychological abuse
Ø
Ø
ØIncludes verbal assaults, such as blaming,
screaming, name-calling, and using sarcasm;
constantly family discord characterized by
fighting, yelling, and chaos; and emotional
deprivation or withholding of affection,
nurturing, and normal experiences that
engender acceptance, love, security and self-
worth
 WARNING SIGNS OF ABUSED/
NEGLECTED CHILDREN
Serious injuries such as fractures,
burns, or lacerations with no
reported history of trauma
Delay in seeking treatment for a
significant injury
Child or parent giving a history
inconsistent with severity of injury,
such as a baby with countercoup
injuries to the brain (shaken bay
syndrome) that the parents claim
happened when the baby rolled off
 WARNING SIGNS OF ABUSED/
NEGLECTED CHILDREN continued…

Inconsistencies or changes in the

child’s history during the evaluation
by either the child or the adult
Unusual injuries for the child’s age
and level of development, such as a
fractured femur in a 2-month-old or a
dislocated shoulder in a 2-year-old
High incidence of urinary tract
infections; tears and bruising of
rectum and vagina
Evidence of old injuries not reported,
such as scars, fractures not treated,
 Risk factors for child abuse
and neglect
Domestic violence
Alcohol and drug abuse
Untreated mental illness
Lack of parenting skills
Stress and lack of support
 Effects of Abandonment
in Children
Lack of trust and relationship
difficulties
Core feelings of being “worthless” or
“damaged” 
Trouble regulating emotions
Poor self-esteem
may reject everything about the
absent parent
may idealize the absent parent
may have difficulty expressing their
emotions
 TREATMENT and
INTERVENTION
Ensure the child’s safety and well-
being
Thorough psychiatric evaluation
Relationship of trust between the
therapist and the child
Long-term treatment including
professionals from different
disciplines
Play therapy
Family therapy
Parents may require psychiatric or
substance abuse treatment.
“Child abuse casts a shadow the length


of a lifetime. “
 -Herbert Ward
 “If we are to reach real peace in
this world, and if we are to carry
on a real war against war; we shall
have to begin with children. And if
they will grow up in their natural
innocence, we won’t have to
struggle, we won’t have to pass
fruitless, idle resolutions, but we
shall go from love to love and
peace to peace, until at last all the
corners of the world are covered
 References
 Videbeck, Sheila L. Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, 5th Ed.
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
 http://singleparents.about.com/od/parenting/a/abandonment.
htm
 http://www.healthofchildren.com/A/Abandonment.html
 http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/commonproblems/
child_abuse.html
 http://www.helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emoti
onal_sexual_neglect.htm
 http://www.youtube.com
 http://www.yahoo.com
 http://www.google.com

 Bless Faith S. Santonia
 RR41

 March 2011