Child Physical Abuse
The Three Elements of Child Abuse: There are three elements that play a role in every abusive situation: the abuser, the abused child, and the crisis or trigger that caused the abuse to happen.
Element #1 – An Abuser. Many parents have the potential to abuse their own children if conditions are right – or wrong from the victim’s perspective. Some factors exist, however, that predispose some parents to physically harm their children. It should be noted that some of these reasons are used as excuses by parents being interrogated regarding suspected abuse.
- The parent is suffering from stress and acts out toward the child. Social problems such as alcohol and drug abuse or financial or marital difficulties increase the levels of stress that parents experience and can overload their ability to cope. The frustration borne of these problems is often directed at the most vulnerable member of the family. Parental stress is the number one causative factor in child physical abuse.
- Parents have unrealistic expectations. Many parents lack a basic understanding of human growth and development. They expect their children to mature faster than is possible or realistic. They interpret children’s failures or lack of progress as stubbornness.
- The parent was abused as a child. 85 to 90% of all parents who physically abuse their children were themselves abused as children. Young children learn that the way to handle a problem is to strike the child because that is how they were raised. Thus, abuse becomes inter-generational.
- The parent is socially isolated. People who live relatively isolated lives or who have no support systems (single parent households) are at risk of becoming overwhelmed and exhausted by their situations. When this happens they turn against their children whom they perceive to be the source of extra work or social limitations. Parents who succumb to this cycle of abuse withdraw further from social contact and the intensity and/or frequency of the abuse increases.
- The parent has a poor self image. Parents who don’t like themselves often do not like their children. They have a low sense of self worth and perceive their children to have little value. Children who look and act like their parents are at particular risk of abuse in these situations.
- The parent feels rejected. Parents who have been rejected by their own parents or partners are looking for love and expect their children to satisfy this need. Children, with their limited emotional experiences, are unable to fill this gap for the parent.
