Impact of Child Abuse on Adult Behaviour

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Literature Review

The scope of the study involved investigating how child abuse affects young adults, mentally and their life choices. The aim of the study is to establish a connection between the trauma of child abuse on the mental wellbeing and the quality of life decisions which is made by young adults. Young adulthood marks a stage in life whereby individuals experience a transition in the levels of independence and decision making. One factor that affects the quality of cognitive decisions which are made by young adults is exposure to child-abuse experiences (Birn et al., 2017). Child abuse continues to be a widespread problem, with up to 40% of young adults considering it a significant life event (Li et al., 2015). Children are not just abused physically; they are also psychologically traumatized.

Underreporting of child abuse cases is of special academic interest since it impairs the full comprehension of the full extent of the problem of child abuse. The most common reasons for not reporting child abuse are fear of retaliation from the abuser and lack of knowledge about what constitutes appropriate reporting (Lynne et al., 2015). Only 21 percent of all cases known to authorities are reported by child victims themselves, who would be able to provide the most accurate details about the incident(s) that led to reporting. In addition, some abuse is never disclosed, even when children reveal what happened to them. Non-reporting increases for children who have suffered severe forms of abuse at home. For example, child sexual abuse is one of the most underreported crimes in the world. This may be attributed to societal attitudes about sexuality and child sexual behavior, cultural differences, or because children are often threatened by the abuser with bad consequences if they tell anyone about what has happened to them (Lynne et al., 2015). Negative perceptions and attitudes towards people in authority also contributes to underreporting of child abuse incidences. Adults in positions of authority, who are in a position to help, may not be seen as trustworthy. When abuse is reported, it often happens too late to prevent further harm.

The brain is complex and only fully developed in adulthood. It is therefore not unreasonable to expect that certain types of experiences in childhood can have an negative impact on the way that lifelong neural processes are organized, or even permanently alter the structure and function of the brain. These include difficulties with emotional regulation, impulsivity, impaired social relationships, increased risk for addiction and psychopathology as well as changes in functional connectivity between different parts of the brain. One theory currently being tested is that experiencing adverse childhood experiences affects the normal development of the brain structure and function (Teicher et al., 2016). The hippocampus, which plays a central role in memory formation, emotion regulation and learning, is particularly affected by such experiences. In fact there are several studies showing that children who have experienced neglect, physical and sexual abuse and exposure to domestic violence have reduced hippocampal volumes (although other brain regions may also be involved).

These children also show greater hyper-reactivity in the amygdala region which is important for emotional regulation and fear conditioning. Hyper-reactivity has been observed especially in the right amygdala cortex regions of these patients. In general the prefrontal cortex region is known to be important for cognitive functions. The fusiform gyrus is of particular interest as it is known to be the source of the face processing areas in the brain, and is important for recognizing emotional facial expressions (Teicher et al., 2016). This region shows decreased activation in children who have experienced neglect, physical and sexual abuse and exposure to domestic violence. The findings thus far suggest that there may be a link between experiencing adverse childhood experiences during childhood and abnormal functioning in adulthood resulting from changes in brain structure & function.

The level of physical abuse experienced during childhood is linked to the quality of adult decisions. Higher levels of physical abuse in childhood increases the risk for poor decision making. This is particularly true for risky behaviors such as promiscuity, drug use and non-compliance to health care advice. More specifically, people with a history of physical abuse tend to take action sooner than others when under stress. This may be due to the fact that the individual feels more threatened or feels exposed to punishment by triggering the stress response in their brain. Similarly, individuals with a history of physical abuse were found to perform worse on the planning and scheduling task, than those without a history of physical abuse (Wells & Kuhn, 2015). This finding suggested that people with a history of physical abuse make decisions that are less logical and more impulsive in nature. In addition to this effect, individuals with a history of physical abuse were found to have poorer attention control during intervals. Those who have been physically abused are more vulnerable to poor decision making because they do not perform as well on tasks that are relevant to decision making.

The process of planning and scheduling is required for an effective choice with regards to risk taking. Individuals who were physically abused, displayed a decrease in their ability to plan and schedule. This act of planning or scheduling allows individuals to adequately perform the task at hand by considering all the variables that will affect the outcome of their choice. As risky behaviors are strongly linked to poor attention control, the reason behind this finding is quite simple (Bosquet Enlow et al., 2016). Individuals who have been physically abused are less able to focus on an individual task because they are concerned with physical safety and usually have too much stimuli present. Therefore, in order for an individual to perform adequately and make sound choices, they will need to be provided time for planning and scheduling. The effects experienced during childhood can persist throughout many aspects of adult life while influencing the decision making processes.

Child abuse significantly increases a person’s likelihood of developing anxiety and depression, which can lead to thoughts of suicide. People who experienced trauma in childhood are at an increased risk of committing suicide, especially if they are feeling low self-esteem and have few social interactions. Child abuse can lead to a series of psychological problems for the person who was attacked as well as society at large, including cognitive decline and increased rates of depression. Cognitive deficits include faulty memory, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and impulse control disorders like addiction (Bosquet Enlow et al., 2016). Trauma such as physical abuse and neglect can cause children to have dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

According to the United States Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, juveniles who have been abused are twice more likely to engage in criminal behaviour than their non-abused counterparts. The National Child Abuse Defense Association reports that two thirds of incarcerated adults were abused as children. This extremely high rate is likely due to the fact that childhood trauma can lead to an inability to cope with stress in an adaptive fashion, a phenomenon known as Stockholm Syndrome (defined as an involuntary emotional bond between a victim and the abuser). This victim-to-abuser relationship often carries well into adulthood and can manifest itself in gang violence, drug addiction or other crimes. Therefore, it can be inferred that childhood maltreatment plays a role in juvenile delinquency; early-life trauma has been shown to have deleterious effects on the development of brain circuits that control emotion regulation abilities and impulse control capabilities (Li et al., 2015). This in turn disrupts the individual’s ability to cope with stress, making them more susceptible to behavioural patterns such as delinquency and addictions. Therefore, children who experience abuse are more likely to engage in criminal behaviour.

Child abuse also has social implications – the physical and psychological effects of child abuse carry over into adulthood and have been shown to impair family relationships, friendships and marriages. Adult abusers were likely to be abused themselves. There is a correlation between the number of other people in the person’s family who have been abused and their likelihood of abusing others. For example, if both parents in a family were victims, the likelihood that one or more of their children would be victimised increased by four times. People who have been abused are more likely to suffer from depression. Once these feelings are repressed, they often resort to using drugs or alcohol as a way to escape reality (Li et al., 2015). This is amplified when there was no support during childhood – such as having no friends, experiencing loneliness or suffering abuse at school – which results in fewer people being able to help them avoid depression later in life.

References

Birn, R. M., Roeber, B. J., & Pollak, S. D. (2017). Early childhood stress exposure, reward pathways, and adult decision making. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(51), 13549–13554. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1708791114

Bosquet Enlow, M., Englund, M. M., & Egeland, B. (2016). Maternal childhood maltreatment history and child mental health: Mechanisms in intergenerational effects. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47(sup1), S47–S62. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2016.1144189

Li, D., Chu, C. M., Goh, J. T. L., Ng, I. Y. H., & Zeng, G. (2015). Impact of childhood maltreatment on recidivism in youth offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(10), 990–1007. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854815598598

Lynne, E. G., Gifford, E. J., Evans, K. E., & Rosch, J. B. (2015). Barriers to reporting child maltreatment. North Carolina Medical Journal, 76(1), 13–18. https://doi.org/10.18043/ncm.76.1.13

Richter, L., Komárek, A., Desmond, C., Celentano, D., Morin, S., Sweat, M., Chariyalertsak, S., Chingono, A., Gray, G., Mbwambo, J., & Coates, T. (2013). Reported physical and sexual abuse in childhood and adult HIV risk behaviour in three African countries: Findings from Project Accept (HPTN-043). AIDS and Behavior, 18(2), 381–389. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0439-7

Teicher, M. H., Samson, J. A., Anderson, C. M., & Ohashi, K. (2016). The effects of childhood maltreatment on brain structure, function and connectivity. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 17(10), 652–666. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2016.111

Wells, M. A., & Kuhn, V. P. (2015). Couple therapy with adult survivors of child abuse: Gender, power, and trust. In Socio-Emotional Relationship Therapy (pp. 107–119). Springer International Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13398-0_9