Effects of Abuse on Children

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The effects of abuse, neglect, and sexual molestation are different for each young victim. The age of the child, how the child interprets the behavior towards him or her, the child's survival instinct, whether there is a significant other person who might provide a positive model for the child, the extent and consistency of the harmful adult behavior: these are factors which influence the child's eventual reactions to abuse and neglect.

Some of the patterns which have been observed in abused children include:

• Differential reaction to pain: some battered children have learned to "disconnect" from pain and will exhibit no sign of pain. Others are "stuck" in their pain and overreact at the slightest hint of discomfort.
  
  
• Dislike of their bodies: their bodies are a reminder of pain, and they do not feel "safe" in them.
  
  
• Lack of trust in others
  
  
• Issues relating to separation from natural parents: these are frequently hard to understand since outsiders might assume that children who are battered or neglected may not want to be with their parents or may not love their parents.
  
  
• High degree of fear: the child can be timid and shy or bold and aggressive in new situations due to a fear and mistrust of others.
  
  
• Susceptibility to learning and speech disabilities: depending on the seriousness of the abuse, some children have central nervous system disorders, neurological problems, and mild to extreme emotional disorders.
  
  
• Slight perceptual or memory problems as well as restless or hyperactive behavior.
  
  
• Lack of normal, age-appropriate relationships.
  
  
• Aggressive tendencies as well as tendencies towards withdrawal.
  
  
• The "Caretaker" pattern: alertness to others' needs with attempts to ward off abuse by pleasing or comforting others.
  
  
• The "Hider" pattern: withdrawal at the slightest hint of argument.
  
  
• The "Scapegoat" pattern: taking on others' blame.
  
  
• The "Provocateur" pattern: behavior that seems to "ask for it" exhibited by children who may have learned that negative attention is better than none.
  

—Libby Colman, Ph.D.