Every year millions of children face and experience child abuse. It includes not only physical, but also sexual and emotional abuse, and neglect. Usually child abuse leads to a number of serious consequences including mental disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. Moreover many such children might have physiological health problems, difficulties with learning and social problems that do not allow them to get along with peers and family members in a normal way. In most of the cases children, who do not receive a proper support and assistance after abuse experience and incidents are more likely to have different mental disorders, therefore provision of sufficient help is extremely important.
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The first theory is social learning theory, according to which children always learn parental practices through their own observation and experience. Thus, those children who are physically punished and emotionally neglected may learn to believe that it is an appropriate, healthy and acceptable form of discipline, and thus they are quite likely to use it as well later for their own children when they become parents. Thus social learning theory leads to a conclusion that those parents, who abuse their children, must have been victims themselves in their childhood. (Daro et al. 70) Another theory that explains the problem of child abuse is attachment theory that was developed by John Bowlby in 1970. According to this theory, close and good relationships between a child and a mother during child’s first five years are extremely important. Therefore, if a child is neglected or abused by a mother during his or her early years, it might lead to many psychological and mental problems. Such children also might experience problems with development of verbal and nonverbal skills, and have difficulties in adolescence and even adulthood. It also might negatively influence their own pattern of behaviour with their future children. (Frost 125) The third theory was also developed in 70s by the scholar Garbarino and is called ecological theory. This theory explains the reason of child abuse in a family and claims that it happens because of a mismatch of a parent to a child, or a family to a neighbourhood or community. For example, parents who experience a high level of stress and do not have strong coping skills might have problems with meeting needs of their children. In such families a possibility of domestic violence and child abuse is quite high. Moreover, a risk of child abuse is even higher, if a child has inborn disabilities or learning problems. Ecological theory also