Essay on Effects of Verbal Abuse of Parents on Childrens Personality and Behavior

Effects of Verbal Abuse of Parents on Childrens Personality and Behavior: Understanding Cognitive Development and Promoting Resilience

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Defining the Research Topic

Raising kids to become productive members of the society is the ultimate desire of any parent. However, to achieve this wish, parents need to use the correct methods to ensure that they do not demoralize their kids. Parents need to possess the right qualities that their children can emulate. Some guardians use negative reinforcement techniques to make sure that their children conform to what they want. There are those who engage in verbal and physical abuse which may negatively affect children. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will lay on assessing how verbal abuse by parents impacts the social behavior as well as personality traits of children. The cognitive school of thought will aid in finding mitigation means that reduce abuse among children. Besides, through cognitive psychology, one understands the impacts of verbal abuse on kids and the role parents play in shaping their characters. Maltreated children have problems relating with their peers as well as underperforming in school (Kaufman & Cicchetti, 1989)

Rationale for Current Study

Many studies conducted about child abuse have laid focus on physical maltreatment. Many children are subject to verbal abuse by their parents, and this is likely to affect the behavior and personality traits of the child. Parents have developed the notion that as long as they do not physically abuse their children, they are on the right track in raising them. However, verbal abuse has been seen to cause more damages especially emotion-wise which leads to problems in relating to other persons as well as having low self-esteem (Bolger, Patterson, & Kupersmidt, 1998). Also, parents need to be aware that the environment in which children grow influences their cognitive development. Child abuse in the contemporary world have increased and need to be addressed using more efficient ways which are indicated in this study. The importance of the cognitive school of thought applied in this study is relevant to the contemporary world as many parents will benefit on how to reduce abuse on their children.

The Issues Surrounding the Problem

Child abuse, whether verbal or physical, is a drawback in the kid's development. Verbal abuse leads to the development of adverse cognitive issues such as depression (Sachs-Erickson, Verona, Joiner, & Preacher, 2006). Also, children become demoralized and may develop negative life events such as reduction in their self-esteem. Children who are verbally abused tend to segregate themselves from the rest since they possess self-criticism that is imparted to them by parents. Thus, verbal abuse on the children can be said to lead to the development of unwanted behavior that affects them in their adult life. Resilience is essential to children as it helps them overcome such issues as verbal abuse. Every kid needs to develop a flexible mind that helps them overcome the pressures of daily life challenges, disappointments and trauma, relate well with others, and be respectful (Goldstein & Brooks, 2005).

Many studies have established the potential threats posed by verbal abuse of children by their parents. As opposed to physical mistreatment, verbal abuse does not pose immediate harm to the child, but eventually, the damage is evident on the child's behavior. Many parents believe in punishing their kids. However, they are discouraged from scolding and uttering hurtful messages towards the children in the process of disciplining them. The ability of a child to overcome such cases of verbal abuse depends on their resilience. Parent education programs necessitate that instead of verbally abusing the child for a mistake they have committed, the guardian can use it as a learning ground for the kid. An example is given by Vissing, Straus, Gelles, & Harrop (1991), where parents are advised to replace aggressive statements such as "You're stupid to have done x." with non-depreciatory statements such as, "I get angry when you do X." (p. 225).With such efforts, parents can help in improving the personality and character of the child through positive reinforcement rather than verbal abuse. Despite studies differing as to which form of abuse alters the character the most, the important thing to note is that parents need to avoid any maltreatment of the child (Battle et al. 2004).

Developing an efficient form of resilience starts with comprehending a wide-range of the psychological, social, and biological factors related to the child. Children who develop stern resistance can overcome abuse by adults as well as other life challenges. Verbal abuse is hard to prove since it is not evident as that of physical violence. However, it has adverse impacts on the emotional effects which alter the behavior of the child in a negative manner. The obligation to ensure that a child is not abused lies on the parent. Children can be stressing, provocative, and bring the trial of capability to cope with on the parent. However, it is upon the parent to ensure that they control themselves and refrain from causing verbal or physical harm to the child. The emotional harm caused by the parent as a result of verbal abuse remains on the minds of children who may negatively reflect on their behavioral development (Glaser, 2002).

A study by Caspi et al. (2003) suggested that adult at the age of 26 tend to behave like when they were three years of age. The latter means that the exposure that the kid got at the young age is carried forward to their adult life. If the child were emotionally hurt as a result of abuse by the parent, they would tend to carry the feelings to their later lives. Researchers have tried to employ various methods to reduce child abuse and promote resilience among the already abused kids. Improving resilience involves conducting activities that promote the child's competence and their surrounding ecologies such as school, family, and neighborhood (Greenberg, 2006). Failure to address these issues may lead to the development of personality disorders. These disorders mostly arise in the puberty stage of the child's development and prolong into adulthood. Studies conflict over the actual cause of personality disorders. However, it is evident that among the primary cause are sexual and verbal abuses caused by parents or close relations of the child.

Philosophical and Applied Elements of Cognitive Psychology

Comprehending how children function as they develop especially in an abusive environment requires an understanding of how cognitive psychology works. Cognitive psychology is important in establishing how the children fair in the society and how their relationship with parents may contribute to their success or failure in future. When conducting the research, it is hard to find parents who are honest enough to admit having abused their kids. Also, abused children lack the courage to come out and report their parents. For the two mentioned reasons, there is the need for using other methods for data collection such as observation, interviews, and available records. Adverse childhood experiences can be resolved better using cognitive psychology. It is important to grasp how children develop and the possible interventions and policies that can be used to reduce their maltreatment (Cicchetti & Rogosch, 1997). In the end, what must be emphasized is the improvement in child resilience through minimization of abuse by parents.

References

Battle, C. L., Shea, M. T., Johnson, D. M., Yen, S., Zlotnick, C., Zanarini, M. C., &McGlashan, T. H. (2004). Childhood maltreatment associated with adult personalitydisorders: findings from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study.Journal of personality Disorders, 18(2), 193-211.

Bolger, K. E., Patterson, C. J., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (1998). Peer relationships and selfesteemamong children who have been maltreated. Child development, 69(4), 1171-1197.

Caspi, A., Harrington, H., Milne, B., Amell, J. W., Theodore, R. F., & Moffitt, T. E. (2003).Children's behavioral styles at age 3 are linked to their adult personality traits at age 26.Journal of Personality, 71(4), 495-514.

Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1997). The role of self-organization in the promotion ofresilience in maltreated children. Development and Psychopathology, 9(04), 797-815.

Glaser, D. (2002). Emotional abuse and neglect (psychological maltreatment): A conceptualframework. Child abuse & neglect, 26(6), 697-714.Goldstein, S., & Brooks, R. B. (2005). Resilience in children. New York: Springer.

Greenberg, M. T. (2006). Promoting resilience in children and youth. Annals of the New YorkAcademy of Sciences, 1094(1), 139-150.

Kaufman, J., & Cicchetti, D. (1989). Effects of maltreatment on school-age children'ssocioemotional development: Assessments in a day-camp setting. DevelopmentalPsychology, 25(4), 516.

Sachs-Ericsson, N., Verona, E., Joiner, T., & Preacher, K. J. (2006). Parental verbal abuse andthe mediating role of self-criticism in adult internalizing disorders. Journal of affectivedisorders, 93(1), 71-78.

Vissing, Y. M., Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Harrop, J. W. (1991). Verbal aggression byparents and psychosocial problems of children. Child abuse & neglect, 15(3), 223-238.