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Neglect

"Neglect is the failure of a caregiver to meet a dependent person’s basic physical and emotional needs, including the need for shelter, food, clothing, medical care, and emotional support". Neglect comes in a variety of different forms of abuse. This can be physical, emotional, social and wider.

Responding to neglect can ensure the individual gets access to resources they require and put strategies in place to overcome barriers and issues. If neglect isn't responded to it can result in further harm to the individual and can have many affects. Physically, it may result in self harm, malnutrition and lack of personal hygiene. Further symptoms can vary from: depression, anxiety, social isolation, anger, withdrawal, stealing for basic necessities. If we suspect somebody is being neglected we should follow whistleblowing. This is in order to ensure investigation and prevent further consequence.

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Neglect is the failure of a caregiver to meet a dependent person's basic physical and emotional needs, including the need for shelter, food, clothing, medical care, and emotional support.

While we generally think of physical, sexual, or emotional harm when we think of domestic abuse, neglect is also a type of abuse, particularly if it puts the person's health, safety, or well-being at risk.

Neglect is most often witnessed in relationships between parents or caregivers and children-it is estimated that two-thirds of complaints reported to child services involve neglect.

However, apart from children, other people who are dependent on family members/caregivers, such as elderly people, people with medical conditions, or people with special needs, may also experience neglect.

This article discusses the types, signs, causes, and effects of neglect as well as some coping strategies that may be helpful.

Types of Neglect

Neglect is generally classified into the following categories:

Physical:Failure to provide shelter, food, clothing, or appropriate supervision for the person's age, physical condition, mental ability, and environment

Emotional:Failure to provide psychological care, attention, emotional validation, and healthy communication

Medical: Failure to provide the necessary medical or mental health care for the person's needs, or withholding medically indicated treatments for life-threatening conditions

Educational:Failure to meet a child's educational needs like taking them to school, following up with homework, providing support when the child is having challenges, not participating in school related events, etc.

It's important to note that being unable to provide care due to poverty is not considered neglect, whereas a caregiver's failure to provide care despite having resources available to them would be considered neglect.

Signs of Neglect

These are some of the common signs of neglect:

Dehydration

Malnutrition

Poor personal hygiene

Untreated wounds, sores, or injuries

Unattended medical problems

Unsanitary living conditions (including dirt, insect or animal infestation, or soiled clothes or bedding)

Hazardous living conditions (including improper wiring, lack of heat, or no running water)

While these are some of the more visible signs of neglect, it can take a toll on the person's emotional and mental health as well. These effects can sometimes be harder to see.

Mental and Emotional Effects of Neglect

Neglect can affect a person's mental and emotional health and increase their risk of experiencing:

Negative emotions, such as guilt, fear, anger, shame, isolation, and distrust

Self-esteem issues, such as low self-confidence and sense of self-worth

Self-control issues, which can lead to risky or impulsive behaviors as well as alcohol and drug use

Executive functioning difficulties, such as memory impairment, learning difficulties, and inability to focus

Mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, attachment disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use, and suicidal tendencies

Relationship difficulties, often due to social withdrawal or antisocial behaviors such as bullying or aggression

Poor quality of life, due to poor academic and professional performance, and lower mental and emotional well-being

Causes of Neglect

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a combination of individual, familial, and societal factors can contribute to the risk of experiencing or perpetrating neglect.

Individual Risk Factors

These are some factors that can make an individual caregiver more likely to perpetrate abuse and neglect:

Having mental health issues

Having alcohol or drug use disorders

Having experienced neglect or abuse as a child

Having witnessed neglect or abuse as a child

Being young or single parents

Having many children or dependents

Not being biologically related to the dependent person

Having low income or education

Having high levels of financial stress

Not understanding the person's development or needs

Having a tendency to use corporal punishment methods, such as hitting or spanking, to discipline dependents

Having a tendency to accept or justify aggression, bullying, and violence

Family Risk Factors

These are some familial risk factors that can make people more likely to experience or perpetrate abuse and neglect:

Families that have household members in prison or jail

Families that are isolated from other people, such as extended family, friends, and neighbors

Families who have experienced or witnessed other types of violence

Families with negative communication styles and high conflict

Having parents who are away from home often

Families where older siblings are taking care of younger ones

Families where there is little or no involvement in a child's education

Community Risk Factors

These are some community risk factors that can make people more likely to experience or perpetrate abuse and neglect:

Communities with high poverty rates

Communities with high rates of food insecurity

Communities with limited educational access

Communities with limited economic opportunities

Communities with high unemployment rates

Communities with high rates of crime and violence

Communities with easy access to alcohol and drugs

Communities with limited communal activities for residents

Communities with low engagement and trust among residents, making neighbors less likely to look out for each other

Communities with temporary or unstable housing arrangements, where residents tend to move frequently

Communities with unsanitary and unsafe living conditions

Coping With Neglect

If you have experienced neglect as a child or an adult, these are some steps you can take to heal and cope.

Recognize Your Emotions

Neglect can cause you to disconnect from your feelings. Living with emotional neglect particularly can make it hard for you to understand that your feelings are supposed to be recognized and validated.

As you start to heal, it's important to start recognizing and identifying your own emotions. This can be hard to do if you didn't grow up in an environment where people talked about their feelings.

It's important to validate your own emotions, both positive and negative, because your emotional experiences are an important part of who you are and should not be suppressed.

Identify Your Needs

Neglect means not having your needs met, whether physical, emotional, medical, or educational. This can make it hard for you to articulate your needs and prioritize them. It may also cause you to feel like you don't deserve to have your needs met.

It's important to start paying attention to your needs and learning to prioritize them. This might mean making changes in your life and your relationships to ensure that your needs are being met, rather than ignored.

Seek Support

If you need help coping with the effects of neglect, it may be helpful to see a mental healthcare professional. They can help you work through some of the trauma of your experiences, express and label your emotions, challenge negative thought patterns that cause you to believe you are unworthy of care, and develop healthy coping strategies.

It may also be helpful to join a support group for abuse survivors. They can be a valuable source of inspiration, advice, resources, support, and coping mechanisms.

A Word From Verywell

Neglect may not be as easy to identify as other forms of abuse; however, it can be equally harmful to your mental and physical health. If you have experienced neglect, the journey of healing involves learning to prioritize self-care to ensure your needs are being met.

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Neglect is a caregiver's failure to meet a person's basic physical and emotional needs. This article discusses the types, signs, causes, and effects of neglect.

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it is important to report physical abuse as it would help prevent individuals from poor physical and mental health later in life.

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Verbal abuse

A type of psychological abuse that involves spoken or written harassment such as insulting, belittling, or scolding someone. This can be incredibly frightening for the victim as they may feel intimidated by the perpetrator, it should not be tolerated or dismissed, especially in a setting where care should be provided. Verbal abuse should be prevented at all costs as it can cause anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and a decrease in self-esteem. Recognizing the abuse in the first place can help to prevent it from reoccurring. This can be done by setting boundaries, limiting exposure and reporting the abuse. This is important to do so the victim can be helped to process their emotions, and develop healthy coping mechanisms if they are struggling with the consequences of the abuse they have received.

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its important to report abuse to prevent it from getting worse and cause more harm to the individual

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​

Physical abuse is deliberately hurting or injuring someone

The injuries could make their health worse  and cause more complications. It is an intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person by way of bodily contact.

If they have suffered harm , offer to go to the hospital with them to get them checked out.

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Domestic abuse is any behavior that scares, intimidates, humiliates, isolates, and controls another person. It can happen in any type of relationship, and can affect people of all religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and education levels. Domestic abuse is typically manifested as a pattern of abusive behavior toward an intimate partner in a dating or family relationship, where the abuser exerts power and control over the victim. Domestic abuse can be mental, physical, economic or sexual in nature.

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financial abuse can consist of stealing ones money or controlling a victims purchases or forcing or tricking someone with their financial control. we should respond to this as it can lead to victims suffering further abuse such as physical and emotional abuse. If we did not take action it can lead to one losing all their savings, and potentially their job. This can impact ones mental health as they could fall into depression.

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psychological abuse

attempts to frighten, control, isolate you. Might involve threats of violence directed towards you or a loved one

it prevents people from being at risk of increased mental health problems

report it to the police

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Verbal abuse

It is a destructive form of communication intended to harm the self concept of the other person and produce negative emotions .

It is important to address this to stop it from happening

The procedure is:

1) Notify the employee of the allegations

2) Suspend the employee while carrying out an investigation

3)Have a disciplinary hearing.

Signs and symptoms of verbal abuse are:

Name-calling

Criticizing and judging

Degrading

Threatening

Screaming/yelling

Gaslighting

Manipulating

Feeling afraid of the abuser

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Sexual abuse could significantly affect someones mental health as could self esteem and self image could be negatively afccted. Could potensially affect someones health, as could cause issues with fertility and developing STDs/STI

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child abuse/ verbal