Running head: CHILD ABUSE 1

Valancia Andre
Child Abuse Research Paper
Human Behavior in the Environmental service
Florida Gulf Coast University

Introduction
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The rejection and neglect of children permeates our society today. Some people manage

to overcome child abuse, but most do not. Those who abuse their children typically have an

abusive past or are addicted to drugs. Those who were abused as a child tend to abuse their own,

sadly, the cycle continues. Some believe child abuse only happens to those who are

underprivileged and the less fortunate. When looking at statistics, we can tell that child abuse is a

global issue and a big problem today. If the cycle of violence is ever to end, abusers need to

search for guidance to conform to main stream society and overcome their traumas. Child

Protective Services reported about 681,000 children were victims of maltreatment in 2011

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Usually those who abuse children are

family, family members, foster parents, or a person the family trusts most. Children who have

been abused develop a sense of insecurity, which leads to trust issues. Many children who have

dealt with verbal abuse in the past suffer from long term scars, and have the way they view

society permanently altered. People who have been abuse in the past by parents or family

members can become abusive toward their own children and there are ways to prevent the cycle

from repeating.

Review of literature
Almost everyone has heard of, or know someone who has been verbally abused by parent

or family members. Perhaps a close friend you may know was involved in a verbally abusive

relationship. It is also possible that nobody even knows your conditions. Verbal abuse is a kind of

hammering which doesn't leave evidence like bruises of physical marks.

Verbal abuse is a form of domestic violence which hurts a person emotionally rather than

physically. Verbal abuse frequently happens in the privacy of ones home, not often in public.

People who have been victims of verbal abuse adopt the language for themselves to abuse others,
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as a way of self-defense and retaliation. For example, when a parents make their children fear

that they will not receive the food or care they need, if they do not do what they are told to do.

All kind of child abuse and abandonment leave life time scars. Rogers stated (2010),

consequences of maltreatment extend to the physical, cognitive, emotional psychological, and

behaviors development of children. Some of the effect of abuse and neglect include physical

injuries, brain damage, low self-esteem, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, relational problems,

low academic achievement, and aggressive and criminal behavior (p.188). For examples;

Emotional scars has long lasting effects on children throughout life, it also damaged children

sense of self, and the ability to have healthy relationships with others. It takes away the ability to

function at home, and at school as well.

According to Derobertis, E (2012) The experiences of the mothers in this study suggest

there are certain events that can powerfully influence the temporal unfolding of a verbally

aggressive interaction with ones child. It is how the perpetrators experience aversive behavior in

their children that may provoke them to physically and emotionally abuse their children (p.

541). The participant state that it was because the child was not listening and/or the child had

provoked them. When asked the child to do something, or the child failed to act fast. The parent

get irritated with the way the child have respond or behaves. Parents who are physically or

verbally abusive may believe that their children need to fear them in order to behave, so they use

physical or verbal to keep their child in line. On the other hand, what children are really learning

is how to avoid being hit, not how to behave or grow as person. The child never knows what is

going to set the parent off. The child must behave in order to not anger the parent.

If youve been told over and over again as a child that you are worthless or useless, it is

very difficult to overcome these core feelings. Child abuse is wrong in any shapes or forms, its
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never the child fault to cause the parent to be verbally aggressive. Those who were abuse as a

child will most likely grow up to be an abusers because its hard to get over these emotions under

control.

Explication and critique of theory, concept, or ideas

Based on the work of Gottman on marital relationships, not all conflict negativity is

equally detrimental. Gottman (1993) found that although acts of contempt, stonewalling,

defensiveness, and criticism during a conflict discussion were very detrimental to the

relationship, anger was not predictive of divorce, suggesting that verbal negativity is more

problematic than non-verbal negativity. Thus, verbal negativity might be more detrimental to

adolescents problem behaviors than is parental non-verbal negativity (as cited in Hofer C, 2013

Social Development). Verbal abuse is often more difficult to see because there are hardly any

visible scars unless physical abuse has taken place. It is frequently less visible simply because

the abuse always take place in private. The victim of verbal abuse lives in a confusing place. In

public, the victim is with one person then in private, the abuser may become a completely

different person. As I watch my friend goes through the changes, I never knew she was verbally

abuse as child. Her behavior and her action lead us to a conversation, she explained to me why

she looked for love and protection through guys. She trusted me when she shared her situation.

She told me that she was depressed and lonely all the time because she was verbally abuse by her

mother.

It is my hope that this study can provide the means for a humanization (rather than a

demonization) of mothers who resort to verbally abusive behavior in their childrearing. Second,

this study differs from most of the research on maternal aggression in that it is qualitative and

case-based (or idiographic) in orientation. This study aims to enter the experiential world of the
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mother to arrive at a faithful description of how becoming verbally aggressive toward ones child

unfolds as a personally meaningful event. At present, there is precious little empirical data on

this topic. This study does not propose to identify biographical or demographic trends associated

with aggressive mothers, such as socioeconomic status, prior maltreatment, and so forth

DeRobertis E (2012). Child abuse happens in every type of family. Parents who hurt their

children can come from any background, race, religion, and have any kind of job. Some are very

rich, and some are financially underprivileged and some are well-educated.

According to Roger A, (2010) Social learning or social cognitive theory a leading

proponent of social learning theory, posit that people are active agents in their learning (p.70).

Some people would say all abusers are purposely harming their children. Many of these abusers

have been victims themselves, and dont know any other way to be a parent. Abused children are

more likely to repeat the cycle as when become parent, automatically repeating what they have

experienced as a child. However, adults who survived abuse as child have a strong ambition to

protect their children against what they went through and become very good parents. There are

ways to prevent verbal abuse, breaking the cycle and seek professional help can be very difficult

if the patterns are strongly deep. Take parenting classes once or twice a week and other

interventions will help reduce child abuse. Arrange time to attend a workshop on child abuse and

neglect at church workshop, school workshop, or community workshop. The more we all know

about abuse and neglect, the more we can do to stop it. Parents can attend work shop or

community events on child abuse once a month. Discipline is correcting behaviour and showing

a child how to behave in a more acceptable way. Discipline teaching a child the difference

between good and bad behavior. Good discipline should be a positive force focusing on what a

child is allowed to do. The goal of discipline is to help a child change the behavior. Children
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need to be responsible for their own behavior in order to learn the internal control necessary to

function as healthy person, self-disciplined individuals.

Physical discipline will become abuse if it results in harm or injury to a child. When

parents excessively discipline a child which can will can lead to harming the child such as big

marks and bruises. There are many ways to discipline children without using excessive force,

parent can use time out, take away social time, take away favorite toys or child can be in time

out. Severe punishment can also provoke feelings of resentment, aggression, and humiliation. A

child may develop unfeeling attitudes toward another persons feeling.

Relevance for social work profession

The participants for this study came from a range of lower middle-class blue-collar to

upper middle-class white-collar backgrounds. Participants gave informed consent to participate,

knowing that they could quit at any time and that no identifying data would be presented on the

presentation of relevant findings. No compensation was provided for participation in this study

Derobertis, E (2012). Child abuse is common and can occur anywhere, and continues to have

negative effects when these abused children grow up to be adults. The participant said, I just

remember screaming at him . . . either he needed to learn to listen to me and do what I say or

maybe he should find a different family as he obviously was not happy with this one as cited

Derobertis, E (2012) in Journal of Aggression. Most parents want to love and care for their

children within a safe home, but lack of parenting skills. Parents may not know how to help

children learn, grow and behave in a positive way.

Strong families have the common qualities that promote their strengths. Some parents

committed with their children well. They can give their children support and encouragement
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through the bad times, and they share their joy and excitement of the good times with their

children. Strong families are dedicated to each other well-being, they invest time and energy into

family activities and do not let their work or other priorities take too much time away from

family interaction. Parents are responsible to show concerned and appreciation for children.

Parents who are abusers scream their children because theyre frustrated, threating to abandon

their children. At the exact moment in time when you lose it, they dont feel like they have any

other options, but to lash out.

Conclusion

This study is an attempt to shed light on the mothers experience of becoming verbally

aggressive with their children. The research stated that it was not the child fault that the mother

become verbal abuse. The participant mention after yelling or screaming at their child, they have

some regrets. People who have been victims of abuse do not discussed or give explanations of

the pain they felt openly. Some people manage to overcome child abuse, but most do not. Those

who were abuse as a child lost the ability to have healthy relationships with others. It takes away

the ability to function at home, and at school as well. Verbal abuse can damage children self-

esteem. Child abuse is an issue, but an issues that can be solve. Parent who abuse their children

should seek for help. If parents can get help, they can have a healthier relationship with their

children and provide them a happier life as adult.

References
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Coates, E. E., Dinger, T., Donovan, M., & Phares, V. (2013). Adult Psychological Distress and

Self-Worth Following Child Verbal Abuse. Journal Of Aggression, Maltreatment &

Trauma, 22(4), 394-407. doi:10.1080/10926771.2013.775981

DeRobertis, E. M. (2012). Becoming Verbally Aggressive Toward One's Child: A Study of the

Mother's Perspective. Journal Of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 21(4), 422-439.

doi:10.1080/10926771.2012.669820

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LeRoy, M., Mahoney, A., Boxer, P., Gullan, R. L., & Fang, Q. (2014). Parents who hit and

scream: Interactive effects of verbal and severe physical aggression on clinic-referred

adolescents adjustment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38(5), 893-901.

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Hofer, C., Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., Morris, A. S., Gershoff, E., Valiente, C., & ... Eggum, N.

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