LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review

Abstract

According to NCANDS, approximately 1.2% of U.S. children were maltreated in 2005, with an estimated 3.3 million referrals of child abuse or neglect to CPS agencies. In addition to CPS reports, the NIS also includes information from community professionals who have contact with children, resulting in much higher estimates. In this paper we try to focus on the maltreated children. The paper discusses why the chosen area is a social work problem, what the prevalence of the problem and what has been done to date to address this problem. The paper includes theoretical discussions in this paper. Finally paper gives it final thought.

Literature Review

Since the concept of a battered-child syndrome was introduced in the 1960s, theories about the causes of maltreatment have varied, influenced by the political, social, and cultural beliefs of the time. Research, however, has consistently identified certain social conditions and characteristics of families that may create an unsafe and abusive physical, emotional, and social environment. These factors include a lack of social support for the parent-child relationship, poverty, minority race/ethnicity, substance abuse or addiction, mental illness, violence in the home, and family dynamics, this is the main reason that I have chosen this as social work problem (American Humane Society, 2009).

Research Question

What is the reason of the problem and what would be prevention for this treatment?

Discussion

Parents have experienced disruptive and chaotic early years, had few healthy relationships with adults, or were maltreated themselves, they will be less likely to have a strong support network and more likely to seek to satisfy their own personal needs ahead of their child's needs (Runyan, 2002). This creates a situation that is likely to lead to child abuse and/or neglect (Macdonald, 2001).Poverty is the most pervasive issue found in maltreating families and is particularly associated with reports of neglect.

The lack of economic resources or the inadequate allocation of resources within the family can create stress for parents and an inability to meet the basic physical needs of children. Minority groups often experience social conditions that place children at risk, such as poverty, substance abuse, and mental illness, and they may come into contact more frequently with mandated reporters. Language barriers and cultural bias may also be factors in the disproportionate number of substantiated child maltreatment cases involving minorities (Macdonald, 2001).

The parent may offer inappropriate or inconsistent responses to the child, leaving the child in distress. Parent-child bonding can also be affected by frequent hospitalizations that separate the child from his or her primary caregiver for extended periods of time (Righthand, Kerr, Drach, 2003). A supportive environment is important to mitigating stressful times for parents. Violence between domestic partners threatens the abused parent's ability to cope, fundamentally increasing the risk of child maltreatment. The victim of domestic violence is often reluctant to leave the perpetrator, even for the sake of the children involved. If the perpetrator has not harmed the child in the past, the victim may resist the idea that child maltreatment is linked to domestic ...