Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next Decade Workshop Summary (2012) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Causes and Consequences of Child Maltreatment
5 Causes and Consequences of Child Maltreatment
Pages 43-54
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 43... ...
Childhood neglect produces demonstrable changes in brain structures and function that can be at least partially reversed by interventions. Similarly, childhood physical and sexual abuse produces changes in the brain that are linked to a wide range of psychiatric disorders.
|
From page 44... ...
Nevertheless, this research bears considerable promise in revealing the impact of social environments on child maltreatment behaviors and reports. Models of Neighborhood Influences The 1993 NRC report used an ecologically integrative model drawn from the work of Belsky (1980; NRC, 1993)
|
From page 45... ...
However, research has devoted less attention to the neighborhood processes that affect maltreatment behaviors and reports. These processes can exert their effects through transactional processes, exemplified by the balance between environmental stressors and social support, as well as through processes
|
From page 46... ...
As another example of the research questions raised by this analytic framework, Korbin mentioned the impacts of selection bias and residential mobility on neighborhood characteristics. Researchers do not fully understand how people sort themselves into neighborhoods.
|
From page 47... ...
Finally, neighborhoods differ in their relationship to factors demonstrated by research to influence child maltreatment, such as social isolation or collective efficacy. A full understanding of neighborhoods requires mixed methods research and multiple perspectives, said Korbin.
|
From page 48... ...
Casey Foundation asked whether the increased cohesion and social protection provided by some communities might increase reports of child maltreatment, which might distort measures of the incidence of maltreatment. Korbin said that this is an important point and a challenge that should be welcomed.
|
From page 49... ...
Children in foster care also show somewhat stunted growth on average, and children with adverse early experiences can have compromised immune system function. Effects of neglect on behavior include changes in executive functioning, attention disorders, and affective disorders such as depression and anxiety.
|
From page 50... ...
For example, parenting interventions can resume the diurnal pattern of cortisol levels seen in low-risk children. Children with deficits in their regulation of emotions or behavior can improve through interventions to counter the neglect they have experienced.
|
From page 51... ...
Some brain regions are particularly sensitive during particular parts of the lifespan, and some neurological and clinical consequences may be delayed from the time that brain changes occur. Susceptible Brain Regions Teicher focused on three brain regions: the corpus callosum, the prefrontal cortex, and the hippocampus.
|
From page 52... ...
For example, in a study of women who had experienced childhood sexual abuse at different ages, abuse occurring at 3 to 5 years of age had maximal effects on hippocampal volume, abuse occurring at 9 to 10 had greater effects on the corpus callosum, and abuse from 14 to 16 years of age had a particular effect on the prefrontal cortex (Andersen et al., 2008)
|
From page 53... ...
Another possibility is that different types of maltreatment have unique effects related to the sensory systems activated and the ways in which specific events are processed. Support for the second hypothesis comes from a study showing that repeated exposure to childhood sexual abuse reduces gray matter volume by 14 percent in the left primary and secondary visual cortex (Tomoda et al., 2009)
|
From page 54... ...
"That may not be a good priority, but that is the way things go currently." Leventhal asked about the neurobiological effects of children who experience abuse at very young ages. Teicher said his research excluded any research subject who had injuries above the shoulder, but abuse below the head produces volumetric changes in prefrontal regions and alterations in the dopamine system, which is related to drug abuse, along with changes in the cerebellum and cortical pain pathways.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.