Child Abuse, Alcoholism and Proactive Treatment free essay sample

A discussion on the correlation between alcoholism or drug use, and child abuse. This paper discusses the correlation between alcoholism or drug use, and child abuse. The author highlights the physiological, psychological and emotional harm child abuse causes and raises some ideas for prevention action initiative to tackle the child abuse phenomenon. The author concludes that prevention education, support services and self-help groups are necessary for child abuse prevention. Research indicates that there are some disturbing parallels between the children of alcoholics and drug addicts and victims of maltreatment. According to an article on childabuse.com, 40% of reported child maltreatment cases involve the use of alcohol or other drugs. ?This suggests that of the 1.2 million confirmed victims of child maltreatment, an estimated 480,000 children are mistreated each year by a caretaker with alcohol or other drug problems.? (childabuse.com) Consequences of both substance abuse and child abuse may include physical stress, psychological stress, and disruption if normal behavioral development. We will write a custom essay sample on Child Abuse, Alcoholism and Proactive Treatment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For instance, both victims of maltreatment and children of alcoholics/ habitual drug users, feel guilty and responsible for their parents problem. Both groups of children often have self-esteem issues, fear of failure, and suffer from clinical depression and anxiety. In addition, these emotional effects predicate other behaviors in adolescence and adulthood such as criminal behavior, delinquency, and other deviant behavior. Even though there has not been a great deal of evidence to substantiate this hypothesis, it is thought that exposure to violence in both alcohol abusing and child-maltreating households increases the likelihood that the children will commit and be recipients of acts of violence. (National Institute of Justice, Online)