Consequences of Stress on Child's Development
SEXUAL ABUSE
Someone I know very closely was sexually abused when she was 6 years old. She tried to cope with the abuse, but it was difficult because she did not entirely understand what was going on or if it was normal for a child her age. She blocked out memories and worked hard to keep busy, however this produced more stress. She found she was not trusting of others, and had nightmares often. When her sister was born she was extremely overprotective of her sister but did not realize why. The experience forced her to "grow up quickly" because she was dealing with something a child does not have the ability to understand or cope with. Looking back at her experience and reaction to it, she sees how it affected her childhood and how it affected her personality today.
This issue is more common than perceived. It happens around the world and is typically unnoticed because the children may feel embarrassed or confused (RAINN, n.d.). It's important to know how to approach child sexual abuse and how to get help if it's suspected. Child sex trafficking and child prostitution is also a worldwide issue. I read about the missing child scandal in India and how it is believed that children are being abducted to be "trafficked into sex trade" (Townsend, 2017).
Sexual abuse has drastic affects on a child's biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial development. The physical abuse directly affects the biosocial development, especially considering how drastic the abuse is. It affects the cognitive development with regards to trusting others and possibility of developing phobias (RAINN, n.d.). The perception of certain situations and events will be cognitively distorted after an abusive and traumatic event. It affects the psychosocial development because children can develop depression, post traumatic stress disorder, overprotectiveness, regressive behaviors, and many more (RAINN, n.d.).
RAINN. n.d. Child sexual abuse. Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/articles/child-sexual-abuse
Townsend, M. 2017. The scandal of the missing children abducted from India's railway stations. The
Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jul/30/global-development-india-child-trafficking
Someone I know very closely was sexually abused when she was 6 years old. She tried to cope with the abuse, but it was difficult because she did not entirely understand what was going on or if it was normal for a child her age. She blocked out memories and worked hard to keep busy, however this produced more stress. She found she was not trusting of others, and had nightmares often. When her sister was born she was extremely overprotective of her sister but did not realize why. The experience forced her to "grow up quickly" because she was dealing with something a child does not have the ability to understand or cope with. Looking back at her experience and reaction to it, she sees how it affected her childhood and how it affected her personality today.
This issue is more common than perceived. It happens around the world and is typically unnoticed because the children may feel embarrassed or confused (RAINN, n.d.). It's important to know how to approach child sexual abuse and how to get help if it's suspected. Child sex trafficking and child prostitution is also a worldwide issue. I read about the missing child scandal in India and how it is believed that children are being abducted to be "trafficked into sex trade" (Townsend, 2017).
Sexual abuse has drastic affects on a child's biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial development. The physical abuse directly affects the biosocial development, especially considering how drastic the abuse is. It affects the cognitive development with regards to trusting others and possibility of developing phobias (RAINN, n.d.). The perception of certain situations and events will be cognitively distorted after an abusive and traumatic event. It affects the psychosocial development because children can develop depression, post traumatic stress disorder, overprotectiveness, regressive behaviors, and many more (RAINN, n.d.).
RAINN. n.d. Child sexual abuse. Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/articles/child-sexual-abuse
Townsend, M. 2017. The scandal of the missing children abducted from India's railway stations. The
Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jul/30/global-development-india-child-trafficking
I'm sorry to hear about your friend but this is such an important topic all around the world! It is definitely happening more often than many people are aware, especially sex trafficking. A friend of mine, recently traveled to Nepal to teach some women there about the tricks many sex traffickers use to lure girls.
ReplyDeleteTara,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story. This really hits home for me because I too have friends who have been sexually abused by someone very close in their family. This topic makes me so angry and full of rage because no one has the right to take advantage of anyone, especially an innocent child. My friends have anxiety issues, and really can't trust people because of their traumatic experiences
Tara,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this story about your friend and how this topic affects everyone globally. We had an in-service at the beginning of the school year about child abuse reporting. One of the topics was child-sex trafficking. We learned that it has quickly become a problem here in Arizona. We also discussed how some of this was due to better reporting and not necessarily an increase in trafficking. Either way, it is a horrible thing that is happening to our children.
Trish