Child Abuse: Psychological And Sociological Analysis
1675 Words7 Pages
This essay will provide an explanation as to why child abuse happens in society. It will critically discuss the attempt of psychological and sociological theories to explain why child abuse exists. Abuse can seriously damage children and the effects of abuse can occur right up to adulthood. There is a high chance that children that have gone through abuse will have physical and mental issues, social dysfunctions such as insecurity and they may find it difficult to form relationships in adulthood. Theories can be used to explain why child abuse occurs although they do not provide a full explanation. The word “theory” according to the Collins English dictionary means “a set of hypothesis related by logical or mathematical arguments to explain…show more content… This perspective implies that if children had the rights of adults in society instead of being “property” of their parents it would decrease the likelihood of them being abused or neglected. Freeman (1983) discovered two main thought processes on the rights of children. These were “Protectionists” and “Liberiosts”. The Protectionists viewpoint suggests that children have a right to be protected from their parents by outside agencies if they are at risk. It is the parent’s responsibility to determine the rights of their children up to a certain age. The Liberiolist perspective came about more recently and it is develop from an educational perspective. Holt (1974) gives a good explanation to this type of thinking. He stated that “childhood is a an oppressed status and that the current state of affairs in which parents grant concessions to children who have little redress against their actions and decisions is unjust and reinforces their oppression”. He suggested a number of rights that children should be intitled to. These include the right to have a choice of where to live, voting rights and the right to have the same financial position as adults. His point of view is basically that children should be allowed to have the rights adults have and he believes the age of the child is not relevant. Scarre (1980) has acknowledged weaknesses in this. These are that children tend to be dependent on their parents emotionally and physically. A strength to this perspective would be that helps us look at maters from a child as an individual’s perspective instead of thinking a child as part of a family. It also focuses on alterations in children’s positions in society in order to stop child