How Does Child Abuse Impact Mental Health?

It is a fact that children are among the most vulnerable people in society. This fact holds true regardless of the continent, culture, financial conditions, and ethnicity. The youth are a valuable resource, which is why it is a must to guard them. Unfortunately, there are plenty of kids who either currently experience child abuse or will experience it in the future. Even though you might think of physical cuts and bruises as a clear indication of abuse, they are not necessarily an element of child abuse. Physical violence is just one of many forms of child abuse. There are other forms, such as neglect and emotional abuse. It is worth noting that child maltreatment can lead to several mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, etc. The first step is to know about the impact of child abuse before you can prevent it. Here is how child abuse impacts mental health.

1. Having Difficulty Maintaining Relationships

Children who experience violence from their parents typically have negative thoughts about a problem they encounter, such as staying suspicious and having trouble trusting other humans. Behaviour like this can make it tough for the victims to maintain good relationships with others, leading to feelings of loneliness. Additionally, several studies suggest that victims of abuse from their parents will most likely fail in building family relationships.

2. Not Being Able to Control Emotions

Child abuse is more than likely to have a significant impact on a child’s emotional control. Once children experience violence, they will have a hard time keeping their emotions under control. It will be easier for them to feel angry, sad, or afraid. Moreover, it will be difficult for them to sleep, and they might have bad dreams as well. Such a condition has the ability to last into adulthood and will also impact the behaviour.

3. Depression and Panic Attacks

It is considered that child abuse has a substantial traumatic impact on the psychological aspects of the victim. This will certainly lead to mental health issues like depression or panic attacks. If left untreated, this condition can make the individual consume things like excessive alcohol and drugs. They might use such things as a form of escape to overcome the experienced trauma. Furthermore, the trauma they experience can provoke negative thoughts, including the thought of ending their life.

4. Reduced Brain Function

Abuse that children experience can negatively impact the development and structure of the brain. It can lead to things like a reduction in function in the different parts of the brain. Such a reduction in cognitive function will lead to the victim having trouble focusing on things like lessons at school, leading to decreased academic achievement, which is not ideal. The impact of this risk gets even bigger once the individual gets older. The person might develop dementia problems. This is why preventing and treating child abuse holds major importance. Doing so will reduce the chances of the children having decreased brain function.

Wrapping Up

Child abuse and neglect are definitely preventable. Every individual has the responsibility to recognise abuse and then report it accordingly. Just the simple act of sharing the information with family and friends can help immensely. It all starts with learning about the impact of child abuse.