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This is particularly true for neglected and sexually abused children, who may have no physical signs of harm. In the case of sexual abuse, secrecy and intense feelings of shame may prevent children, and adults aware of the abuse, from seeking help.
Therefore, official government statistics do not indicate actual rates of child abuse.
Government statistics are based on cases that were (a) reported to social service agencies, (b) investigated by child protection workers, and (c) had sufficient evidence to determine that a legal definition of "abuse" or "neglect" was met. In the official government studies linked to below, terms like "substantiated cases" (United States) and "registered children" (England) refer to such cases.
In short, official government statistics are only "the tip of the iceberg."
In general, four major types of studies are the sources for large-scale child abuse statistics:
Studies that collect official government statistics.
Studies that include official government statistics plus additional sources of data intended to "provide a more comprehensive measure of the scope of child abuse and neglect known to community professionals, including both abused and neglected children who are in the official statistics and those who are not" (quote from U.S. National Incidence Study).
Studies that survey a "representative" sample of people (e.g., from a country) about their first-hand knowledge of child abuse. Typically questions refer to incidents in respondents' own households over the past year, and usually only adults are surveyed, but sometimes adolescents as well.
Studies that survey adults and ask them to recall and report abuse that they may have experienced in childhood.
All four types of studies are linked to, discussed and/or critiqued on this web page. The critical discussions of methogological issues - that is, tools to help you to avoid being confused and misled - are in "Statistics Are Human Creations" and "Retrospective Survey Research Methods."
To begin thinking critically about the issues involved, consider these questions: Which of the following are easier for people to do? In which resulting statistics would you have more confidence?
To choose to tell someone in authority, particularly if you are a child, family member, victim or perpetrator, that you know or suspect abuse is currently occurring, especially if you know that your report could result in an investigation by a social service agency, removal of the child or perpetrator from the home, etc. (Source of official statistics.)
To acknowledge, anonymously, as an adult or adolescent, that incidents researchers could define as "abuse" - but probably do not in the survey - have occurred in your own household within the past year. (Source of incidence statistics from surveys on directly witnessed abuse.)
To report, as a professional trained to recognize child abuse, an estimate of how many cases came to your attention over the past year. (Source of supplemental data in studies like the U.S. National Incidence Study.)
To acknowledge, anonymously, as an adult, in an interview or on a questionnaire, that when you were a child someone behaved toward you in a way that fits a definition of "abuse" - again, without ever having to label the experience as abusive. You may be wondering: "Why do I have problems dealing with emotions, relating to friends, getting close to people? Could it be related to abuse I experienced as a child? Will I (my child, husband, friend, etc.) be forever damaged by the abuse?"
I have three basic answers, or at least beginnings of answers to these questions:
Being abused and/or neglected as a child are not the only painful and potentially damaging experiences that human beings may suffer in childhood.
Whether or not, and to what extent child abuse and neglect (or other painful experiences) have negative effects depends on a variety of factors - related to the abuse itself, but also to relationships, in which the abuse and the child's responses occur.
Child abuse, in itself, does not "doom" people to lives of horrible suffering.
Child Abuse and the Human Condition
It is important to consider these issues in relation to what some people refer to as "the human condition." By this I mean:
All human beings suffer painful experiences, and some of these occur in childhood.
All caregivers of children are sometimes unable to protect them from painful experiences.
We all need love and support to deal with the effects of painful experiences.
Everyone must find ways to cope with the emotions generated by painful experiences - whether or not we get love and support from others.
Many coping or self-regulation strategies work in some ways, but also limit people in other ways. For example:
Ignoring painful feelings may reduce one's conscious experience of them. But it also prevents one from learning how to manage them in smaller doses, let alone larger ones - which makes one vulnerable to alternating between feeling little or no emotions and being overwhelmed and unable to cope with them.
Avoiding getting close to people and trying to hide all of one's pain and vulnerabilities may create a sense of safety. But this approach to relationships leads to a great deal of loneliness, prevents experiences and learning about developing true intimacy and trust, and makes one vulnerable to desperately and naively putting trust in the wrong people and being betrayed again.
At the extreme, getting really drunk can block out painful memories and feelings, including the feeling of being disconnected from others - but cause lots of other problems and disconnections from people.
Some people suffer more painful experiences than others, and abuse is one of many possible causes of extreme emotional pain (others include life-threatening illness, death of a loved one, physical disfigurement, etc.).
Some people get more love and support from their families and friends than others, and families in which abuse occurs tend to provide less of the love and support needed to recover from abuse. But families in which abuse does not happen can also experience significant problems, and can make it hard for family members to deal with the inevitable painful experiences in life.
Finally, because everyone needs caring relationships and love, emotional neglect can be more devastating than abuse, particularly in the earliest years of life.
The Effects of Child Abuse Depend on a Variety of Factors
We have learned from many people's experiences and a great deal of research that the effects of abuse and neglect depend on a variety of factors. Below I group these effects into those which research has shown to influence negative outcomes, and a variety of other factors that are harder to measure for research purposes and/or may be very important for some people but not others.
Factors research has shown to influence the effects of abuse:
Age of the child when the abuse happened. Younger is usually more harmful, but different effects are associated with different developmental periods.
Who committed the abuse. Effects are generally worse when it was a parent, step-parent or trusted adult than a stranger.
Whether the child told anyone, and if so, the person's response. Doubting, ignoring, blaming and shaming responses can be extremely harmful - in some cases even more than the abuse itself.
Whether or not violence was involved, and if so, how severe.
How long the abuse went on.
Additional factors that are difficult to research or may differ in significance for different people:
Whether the abuse involved deliberately humiliating the child.
How "normal" such abuse was in the extended family and local culture.
Whether the child had loving family members, and/or knew that someone loved her or him.
Whether the child had some good relationships - with siblings, friends, teachers, coaches, etc.
Whether the child had relationships in which "negative" feelings were acceptable, and could be expressed and managed safely and constructively.
Some of these factors are about how severe the abuse was, and some are about the relational context of the abuse and the child's reactions. Both types of factors are extremely important.
A great deal of research has been conducted, and continues to be conducted, on how such factors determine outcomes for those abused in childhood. Factors that increase the likelihood of negative outcomes have been referred to as "risk factors," and ones that decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes as "protective factors." Every person who has experienced abuse is unique. And every person who has experienced abuse has a unique combination of risk and protective factors that have influenced, and continue to influence, the effects in his or her life.
In summary, it is important to appreciate that these issues are very complex, and to be familiar with how abuse and neglect can - depending on a variety of other factors - affect various aspects of a person's life. Keep this in mind as you search the web for information and understanding about the effects of child abuse.
