Child Abuse And Neglect Essay

Child maltreatment in the United States affects many children. There is much confusion over the universal definition of the maltreatment of children under the age of 18. Some classify maltreatment as child abuse, while others classify it as neglect. State laws and statutes seem to add to this confusion as there is no one universal definition that is shared between the 50 states. Each state has their own definition of what constitutes as the maltreatment of a child. Sometimes the statutes and laws list child abuse as being physical actions, while others stipulate that physical, sexual, and emotional abuse constitutes as child abuse. Given the differentiation between the states definitions, it is no wonder why people have a tough time determining what the true definition of child abuse and neglect really is. Regardless of the definition, child abuse and neglect has such a
Larry J. Siegel and Brandon C. Welch, authors of the text book Juvenile Delinquency: The Core, define neglect and child abuse in the following ways: “Neglect refers to deprivations children suffer at the hands of their parents” such as a “lack of food, shelter, health care, love.” In contrast, “child abuse is a more overt form of aggression against the child, one that often requires medical attention” (Siegel & Welch, 2016). According to Siegel and Welch’s definitions, child abuse and neglect are easy to distinguish. However, the authors did mention that the confusion on understanding the difference between child abuse and neglect, is that they can occur simultaneously. If you take into account their definitions of the different forms of abuse, it becomes clearer that child abuse usually involves an intentional form of maltreatment, while neglect is usually an inactive form of maltreatment. The authors are not alone in feeling that the definitions are somewhat misleading or