Child Maltreatment Case Study

Child Maltreatment is still a problem plaguing children today, as it is a leading cause of childhood serious injuries and fatalities. Child maltreatment effects millions of children each year. In 2014, child protective service agencies received an estimated 3.6 million referrals involving approximately 6.6 million children and it was estimated that 702,000 of those children were victims of child maltreatment (U.S., 2016). In 2015, Georgia alone had 4,099 child maltreatment case referrals (DFCS, 2016). Maltreatment can take many forms, and some children can suffer from more than one type. The main categories of child maltreatment include neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, and medical neglect. Since 1999, the majority of confirmed victims of child maltreatment have experienced neglect (Child abuse, 2016). In 2014, nationally, 75% of the maltreatment experienced was due to neglect. Of all the children who died from maltreatment in 2014, 72.3 percent suffered neglect and 41.3 …show more content…
Child maltreatment can lead to many consequences. Child maltreatment can include immediate consequences like the following: physical injury, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and in extreme cases death, but it can also cause the children to have an increased risk for a number of problematic developmental, health, and mental health outcomes (Risk, 2015). These children often have learning problems, internalizing symptoms like depression and anxiety, or externalizing symptoms like oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder and aggression problems (WHO, 2016). When these children become adults, they often continue to show increased risk for psychiatric disorders, substance use, serious medical illnesses, and lower economic productivity (Institute, 2014). Also, as an adult, there is a higher risk that former victims may go on to abuse their own