# data[].attributes.headline
How is child neglect connected to psychology? 

# data[].attributes.subject
How is child neglect connected to psychology? 

# data[].attributes.body
Child neglect in psychology is the denial of attention, care, or affection considered essential for the normal development of a child's physical, emotional, and intellectual qualities, usually due to indifference from, disregard by, or impairment in the child's caregivers. For example, abuse or neglect may stunt physical development of the child's brain and lead to psychological problems, such as low self- esteem, which could later lead to high-risk behaviors, such as substance use.

# data[].attributes.body
The Federal Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act (CAPTA) legally defines neglect as "any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that presents an imminent risk of serious harm to the child."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Child neglect is one of the most common forms of child mistreatment. It can affect a child's physical and mental health and can lead to long-term adverse consequences. Child neglect springs from many complex issues, including parental mental health, poverty, and drug and alcohol use.

According to the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2018, approximately 678,000 children in the country were deemed victims of abuse or neglect, with about 60.8% of those suffering from neglect. Moreover, the bureau estimated that 1,770 children died in 2018 from abuse or neglect.

The Federal Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act (CAPTA) legally defines neglect as "any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that presents an imminent risk of serious harm to the child."

Some states include exceptions for determining neglect. For example, a parent who declines certain medical treatments for a child based on religious beliefs may be given an exemption.

A parent's financial situation may also be taken into consideration. A parent living in poverty, for example, who struggles to provide children with adequate food or shelter, may not be considered neglectful if the family is applying for financial assistance or if they're doing the best with what they have. Additionally, some parents may need to leave children at home or under the care of older siblings while they work or go to school.

Types of Child Neglect

When you think of a neglected child, what may come to mind is a child going hungry or left at home alone for long periods of time. But neglect comes in many different forms.

According to the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are several basic categories of neglect, including:

Educational neglect: Failing to enroll a child in school, allowing a child to repeatedly skip school, or ignoring a child's special education needs

Emotional neglect: Exposing a child to domestic violence or substance use, or not providing affection or emotional support

Inadequate supervision: Leaving a child who can't care for themselves home alone, not protecting a child from safety hazards, or leaving the child with inadequate caregivers

Medical neglect: Denying or delaying necessary or recommended medical treatment

Physical neglect: Failing to care for a child's basic needs like hygiene, clothing, nutrition, or shelter, or abandoning a child

Risk Factors

Most parents have good intentions and don't set out to neglect their children. But, unfortunately, some parents aren't able to adequately meet a child's needs.

Sometimes neglect is completely unintentional, such as the case of a young parent who doesn't understand basic child development. They may not recognize how often their infant needs to be fed or changed or know that a 5-year-old shouldn't be left home alone.

At other times, the parent's mental illness or substance use issues may prevent them from providing their children with adequate care. A parent who is under the influence of drugs may not be able to prevent their toddler from wandering outside alone, for example.

The following factors have been found to increase a child's risk of being neglected:

Child factors: Developmental delays

Environmental factors: Poverty, lack of social support, or neighborhood distress

Family factors: Single-parent households, domestic violence, historically underserved communities, or family stress

Parent factors: Unemployment, low income, young maternal age, parenting stress, health issues, mental illness, or substance use

Warning Signs

Often, it's a teacher or a concerned neighbor or relative who may recognize warning signs that a child is neglected. An underweight child who only rarely attends school or a young child who plays outside at all hours of the day without an adult in sight may raise red flags.

There are a number of signs that could indicate the possibility that a child is being neglected. Outward signs may include frequent absences from school, poor hygiene such as being consistently dirty or having severe body odor, lack of sufficient clothing, and being inappropriately dressed for the weather. Signs that the child isn't receiving needed medical, dental, or vision care are also warning signs.

Additionally, the child's behavior may raise flags. Children who steal or beg for food or money, use alcohol and drugs, or simply state that they are regularly home alone may be experiencing neglect.

Signs that a parent or caregiver may not be caring for a child adequately typically center around their behaviors such as an appearance of indifference or apathy toward their child, misuse of drugs or alcohol, or irrational or bizarre behavior.

Consequences

Neglect impacts a child's overall development and health and has physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences. Even if a child is removed from a bad situation, the consequences of neglect can last for a long time and can even lead to high-risk behaviors like substance use.

Health and Development Problems

Malnourishment may impair brain development. A lack of adequate immunizations and medical problems could lead to a variety of health conditions. The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being discovered that 50.3% of children suffered from special health care needs three years after being removed from a neglectful situation.﻿﻿

Cognitive Impairments

A lack of appropriate stimulation could lead to ongoing intellectual problems. Children with a history of neglect may have academic problems or delayed or impaired language development.

Emotional Problems

Neglect can lead to attachment issues, self-esteem problems, and difficulty trusting others.

Social and Behavioral Problems

Children who are neglected may struggle to develop healthy relationships, and they may experience behavior disorders or disinhibited social engagement disorder. NSCAW data determined that more than half of those who were mistreated in youth were at risk of substance use, delinquency, truancy, or unplanned pregnancy.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 75% of all child maltreatment-related deaths include neglect. Fatal incidents of neglect are most likely to occur with children under the age of 7. Neglect fatalities most often stem from a lack of supervision, chronic physical neglect, or medical neglect.

Depending on the state in which you live, once a report of child neglect is filed, a social worker or a child protective services agent will contact the family to schedule an interview or a visit. Their primary responsibility is to ensure the child is safe.

Sometimes, they are able to increase safety and reduce neglect simply by providing the family with resources and education. In other cases, children may need to be placed in another environment to prevent further harm. For example, a child may be placed in foster care or with a relative who can provide adequate care.

These professionals can then assist with appropriate interventions, such as medical services, dental care, or educational services. And when warranted, the social worker or agent will refer the case to family or criminal court.

After the most immediate concerns are addressed, each child's needs are evaluated to determine what types of intervention might be beneficial. For instance, mental health treatment may be helpful for the neglected child.

Children who have experienced maltreatment may benefit from therapeutic services to help them address their emotions, behaviors, or concerns. Likewise, treatment, such as substance abuse services or mental health treatment, also may be given to caregivers to help them become better equipped to care for their children.

How to Report Child Neglect

State laws vary on who is required to report child neglect. In some states, only medical professionals, teachers, childcare providers, and law enforcement officers are mandated reporters.

In other states, any person who suspects abuse or neglect is required to report it. Reasonable suspicion-including firsthand observations or overhearing statements made by the parent or child-is all that is needed to report potential abuse or neglect.

Trained professionals investigate reports of child neglect and abuse. A comprehensive assessment helps determine what type of services may be necessary to keep children safe.

A Word From Verywell

While you may be reluctant to report child neglect, it's important that if you suspect something is wrong that you notify the appropriate authorities. If you're unsure of the situation, follow your instincts, but don't hesitate to make a report if you have concerns.

If a child is being maltreated, the earlier the authorities can intervene, the earlier the child can get help-and you might have even just saved a child's life and helped them to get any services and attention they may require. Additionally, you will have alerted authorities so that the family can be connected to the resources and support that they need.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Recognize and Report Child Neglect

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Child neglect is one of the most common forms of child mistreatment. Learn more about child neglect, including why it happens and how to report it.

# data[].attributes.body
Younger children are neglected most, and more girls suffer from neglect than boys.

1. The child’s neighborhood conditions, such as low socioeconomic status, presence of violence in his/her vicinity, and social attitudes, can place the child at greater risk for maltreatment.

2. Poverty can add to the probability of abuse and neglect. If this condition is added to other risk factors, including depression, substance abuse, and social isolation, the chances of maltreatment increase.

Other factors occurring simultaneously—parent and child characteristics, family situations, community violence and conditions—increase the risk as well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Risk Factors for Child Abuse and Neglect

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Research has revealed many risk factors or attributes associated with child maltreatment. These risk factors may potentially contribute to child abuse and neglect. Individual Characteristics: An individual's risk factors may include mental health issues, adverse response to stress, and trauma history.

# data[].attributes.body
-Some parents, sadly, neglect their children simply because they are disinterested or uncaring.
-Many neglectful parents, for example, were themselves neglected or abused as children.
-On the other hand, very young or inexperienced parents could not fully comprehend how to care for a baby or what can be expected of children at various stages of growth.
-Children may be neglected or mistreated as a result of situations that put families under a lot of stress, such as poverty, divorce, illness, or handicap.
-Additionally, parents who abuse drugs or alcohol or who have other mental health issues may be more likely to maltreat or mistreat their kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Childhood Trauma: The Lives of the Neglected Children

# data[].attributes.body
-When a child is allowed to regularly skip school or is of compulsory school age but is not enrolled in classes, when recommended remedial education services are not used, or when treatment for a diagnosed learning disorder or other special education need is abandoned without good reason, this is referred to as educational neglect.

# data[].attributes.body
“Song is about kids being raised in a broken family where the father comes home drunk and the mother is out prostituting and the kids run away from home and they become the victims of rape, prostitution and the hunter becomes the hunted. So they are out on the street. Do you know where your children are? It’s twelve o’clock. They are somewhere out on the street. Just imagine how scared they are. It’s about the runaway problem we have in America. They become the victims of prostitution, of selling their bodies.”
-Michael Jackson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Title: About Child Abuse and Neglect | Joyful Heart Foundation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Found on Google from joyfulheartfoundation.org

# data[].attributes.body
-Physical neglect is a broad category that includes failing to seek appropriate medical attention, abandoning a kid without making arrangements for care or supervision, providing insufficient monitoring, ejecting a child from the house, and failing to meet the physical or safety needs of a child.
-Other types of physical neglect include poor nutrition, hygiene, or clothes; blatant disdain for potential dangers in the house; and reckless disrespect for a kid's welfare, such as when a parent drives a child while intoxicated or leaves a young child unattended in a moving vehicle.

# data[].attributes.body
- https://casaspeaks4kids.com/risk-factors-child-abuse-neglect/#:~:text=Child%20abuse%20isn't%20limited,isolation%2C%20and%20inadequate%20parenting%20skills.
-https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/child-neglect
-https://images.app.goo.gl/va4gDTBkM4vasQnh7
-https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-is-child-neglect-4151259
-https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/long_term_consequences.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
Lack of adequate care and attention, spousal abuse while a child is present, allowing a child to use drugs or alcohol, delaying or refusing to provide necessary psychological care, and encouraging or tolerating maladaptive behavior like assault or persistent delinquency are all examples of emotional neglect. It may be challenging for third parties to recognize emotional neglect because it may not show up as physical symptoms like unkempt clothing or a pattern of absences.

# data[].attributes.body
-According to research, neglected kids are more prone than their classmates to have behavioral issues, psychiatric disorders, and/or substance abuse, as well as emotional difficulties such trouble connecting with or trusting others.
-Physically neglected children may experience developmental disorders or other long-term health problems as a result of not getting enough food or medical treatment, for example.
-Early childhood neglect has been linked to more long-term issues in young children than in older kids in comparable situations.

# data[].attributes.body
Medical neglect is the failure to give a child the necessary medical care. Such a child may display symptoms of ill health like exhaustion, infected cuts, and persistent skin itching or scratching.

# data[].attributes.body
-Being ignored as a child can be traumatizing, and evidence hints that it may occasionally result in post-traumatic stress disorder.
-Complex PTSD (cPTSD), a condition that resembles both PTSD and borderline personality disorder, may result from it. cPTSD can show symptoms including hypervigilance, helplessness, and interpersonal issues brought on by insecure attachment.

# data[].attributes.body
"Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me,
But everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid"
Clarkson originally wrote "Because of You" when she was 16 years old as a means of coping with the emotional distress caused by the divorce of her parents.

# data[].attributes.body
-Children who have been neglected—as well as adults who themselves were—can learn to accept what happened, deal with uncomfortable emotions, and regain their ability to trust others through psychotherapy.
-Some studies have shown that group therapy is particularly helpful for neglected kids and teens.
-Family therapy can help address dysfunctional dynamics and teach parents the abilities required to meet their child's needs in situations where the neglectful parent will continue to be a part of the child's life and is willing to change their behavior.