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Torie Cortinas Mota

Ms. Shumate

English 2

22 May 2017

Discipline and the Long Term Effects

Childhood should be the most innocent time in a persons life. Unfortunately there are

cruel individuals that rob children of their innocence. There are tens of thousands of children

across the world that endures child abuse. Abuse can be sexual, physical, and emotional. As hard

it is to believe, child abuse is more common than most realized and there are multiple factors that

trigger it.

Children who live in homes that are exposed to the factors below are more likely to

encounter violence (Al Dosari). These risk factors include, but are not limited to, poverty,

parents smoking, parental history of being abused themselves as children, lack of education,

stress, high expectations from a child, parents poor coping skills, poor impulse control, social

isolation, domestic violence, attention deficit disorder, and dangerous neighborhood (Al

Dosari). A person that has endured some sort of child abuse are likely to repeat the cycle to their

children and/or loved ones (Al Dosari). Abuse is a learned behavior that is not easy to unlearn

for many. Evidence from both the developing and developed worlds shows that exposure to

physical and emotional abuse can predict multiple long-term negative outcomes for children

(Meinck). Once a child has endured some form of abuse that moment will have an everlasting

impression on the victim's life.

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There are no boundaries on abuse as it can be blind in regards to ethnicity, living

areas, etc. Ecological theory posits that child abuse arises in the context of nested levels of

influence, with familial, extra-familial, and sociocultural forces bearing upon a parent who is at

the core individual level of the model (Rodriguez). People learn from their experiences and

although they may come from different backgrounds there is a possibility that similar

experiences may occur. This is an example of a person being a product of their environment.

Human beings are creatures of habit and if abuse is taught as a form of communication, it is

likely those channels will be used. As these stress exposures coincide with brain development,

these disruptions may alter various endocrine pathways that can shape brain development,

including memory storage and retrieval, social cognition, emotional attachment, emotional

regulation, and coping skills (Lake).

In conclusion, childhood shapes how a person will act and how they will contribute to

society. Child abuse is experienced in various ways, sexual, physical, or emotional. There is no

greater form of abuse that outweighs the other as each type is traumatic and can damage a young

person. What a child endures can impact them for the rest of their lives and determine the path

they will choose.

Works Cited
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Al Dosari, Mohammed N., et al. "Parents' Perceptions about Child Abuse and Their Impact on
Physical and Emotional Child Abuse: A Study from Primary Health Care Centers in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia." Journal of Family & Community Medicine, vol. 24, no. 2, May-Aug2017, pp.
79-85. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4103/2230-8229.205110.

Lake, Stephanie. "The Lasting Effects of Childhood Trauma on Mental Health in Adulthood:
Current Knowledge and Practical Next Steps for Clinical Practice." UBC Medical Journal,
vol. 8, no. 1, Fall2016, pp. 46-47. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=117888947&site=ehost-live.

Meinck, Franziska, et al. "Risk and Protective Factors for Physical and Emotional Abuse
Victimisation Amongst Vulnerable Children in South Africa." Child Abuse Review, vol. 24,
no. 3, May/Jun2015, pp. 182-197. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/car.2283.

Rodriguez, Christina and Meagan Tucker. "Predicting Maternal Physical Child Abuse Risk
beyond Distress and Social Support: Additive Role of Cognitive Processes." Journal of Child
& Family Studies, vol. 24, no. 6, June 2015, pp. 1780-1790. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1007/s10826-014-9981-9.