The Psychological Consequences Of Child Abuse

Child abuse is a large problem in the world today. Many people have started to see the abuse of children as a joke. Susanna defines the meaning of child abuse as, “non-accidental trauma or physical injury caused by punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning or otherwise harming a child”(208). Child abuse trauma is a process that happens over time. First, the child is abused. Seems quite explanatory, however, it is not always physical. Many children have been sexually and emotionally abused also. The child will begin to feel unsafe and trapped. The child may begin to act out or withdrawing. They feel unsafe and do not know who to trust. The child will have bruises and show signs if stress, whether that be isolationism, violence, sickness, or
Many children take the abuse on to themselves and harbor the blame. This is exactly what Kayte did. The National Research Council stated that, “Physical consequences range from minor injuries to severe brain damage and even death. Psychological consequences range from chronic low self-esteem to severe dissociative states. The cognitive effects of abuse range from attentional problems and learning disorders to severe organic brain syndromes. Behaviorally, the consequences of abuse range from poor peer relations all the way to extraordinarily violent behaviors. Thus, the consequences of abuse and neglect affect the victims themselves and the society in which they live”
No one cared, she was by herself. Alone, broken, helpless, and she knew that others had felt this way and she never wanted anyone to ever feel that way. At the age of thirteen, Kayte went into foster care, she was placed in an abusive foster home. She had moments where no one would say a word to her all day. She was shoved into a dresser, pushed and walked all over. She was then moved into another home, one that showed love and she finally saw hope. She saw that not all people are evil. Kayte lived with this foster home for close to three months. The home was warm and loving. It was a warm piece of apple pie in the midst of a massacre. An oasis of hope in the middle of a desert called life. She was then placed back with her abusive father. As imagined, nothing was different. Her father was the same. She was kicked out no longer than six months of moving back in. Kayte jumped from home to home, school to school. She never found anyone to care. She decided she had to take care of herself. Kayte pushed herself all through high school, and into college. She is majoring in Children’s Ministry and Psychology. She wants to be able to help other children that were like her, broken. Growing up Kayte never saw love, she never felt love. It wasn’t until she accepted Jesus and dug deeper to find the meaning of love. Love is something that is hard to explain because everyone sees it differently. Webster dictionary defines love as