The Effects of Verbal Abuse of Parents on Children's Personality and Behavior - Paper Example

The guiding topic for this study is to conduct research that assesses the effects of verbal abuse of parents on children's personality and behavior. The study will employ the cognitive school of thought to provide reliable results that can be used in subsequent studies. Verbal abuse is the imposition of negative statements directed towards an individual, in this case, a child, and cause emotional harm. Other phrases that can be used to refer to the same include verbal aggression, emotional stress, psychological torture, emotional maltreatment, and mental coercion (Battle et al. 2004). For parents, verbal abuse happens when they try to use negative reinforcement measures to instill discipline in their children. Despite the fact that verbal abuse does not directly cause physical harm on the kid, it may result in emotional distress which has an adverse impact on the behavior and personality characters of the child. Some parents have adopted the tendency of assuming that as far as they use verbal commands and avoid physically assaulting the children, they are on the right track of parenting (Vissing, Straus, Gelles, & Harrop, 1991). However, the latter statement is not true since many children feel oppressed through commanding them around. Few cases involving abused children have been recorded as to having bodily injuries. On the contrary, most children are affected by verbal abuse which continues to affect their psychological development.

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As children grow, they are supposed to improve their resilience which enables them to overcome pressures and stress hence coping with daily encounters. Children with active resistance can develop realistic life goals, unravel problems easily, relate well with other members of the society, and overcome frustrations (Goldstein & Brooks, 2005). The possibility of altering the resilience of an individual begins when the person is young. Children who are abused may end up having a weak resistance that disfavors them when it comes to handling tough life situations. Resilience is a factor that reduces the vulnerability of persons and helps them to develop self-esteem. Individuals with psychiatric issues do not have strong resilience (Greenberg, 2006). Children who have been subjected to verbal abuse by their parents tend to have a lowered resilience that leaves them prone to threats in the society. There need to be measures that promote the resilience of abused children to reduce their vulnerability. Although children have constantly been under threats, the contemporary world has brought along more dangers especially due to the technological advancements being witnessed. This study will focus on answering the questions of which effects are prevalent among verbally abused children? How does verbal abuse affect the behavior and personality of children? And lastly, what are the impacts of verbal abuse on the cognitive development and promotion of resilience?

Attributes

Principles

Cognitive psychology embraces the application of scientific methodologies to solve existing problems. Some of the principles that must be held in this study include the recognition of the internal mental states of individuals, assessment of the desires, beliefs, and motivation of the research participants. For any study to excel, there must be governing principles such as those stated for this study.

Values

Cognitive psychology advocates for several values that include acknowledging the standard cognitive procedures that are universal, individual theories and beliefs. These values ensure that the study respects the varying opinions of individuals participating in the research. It is also important to note that the cognitive process works in a manner that is acceptable to all persons.

Subject Matter

In cognitive psychology, the major focus lays on the memory and sensitivities of an individual. The sensitive nature of an individual entails how they interpret to stimuli. In this case, the perceptions will be drawn from the children selected for the research. After gathering the sensitivity of the children, the researcher must compile the results which will be helpful in drawing reliable conclusions. The personality of an individual is determined by the perceptions of a person. In the case of memory, the researcher will assess how much the verbally abused children store, retrieve, and access information.

Research Methods and Other Applied Methodologies

Methods best suited for conducting this study would have to include psychology, science, and neuroscience. In cognitive science, the professional has to apply computer techniques and models to understand the human brain functionality fully. In this study, science will be applicable in understanding the cognition in children affected by verbal abuse and also try to analyze the parents. On the other hand, neuroscience, aids in assessing the brain of individuals in a closer manner to understand how it functions. In this study, it will be important to comprehend the brain functionality of the abused child. Finally, psychology involves conducting experiments on an individual to unfold a situation that affects them. The latter forms a major base while executing this research.

Research Supporting Current Topic

Studies on child abuse have been conducted for a long time. Children are prone to sexual, physical, and verbal abuse from their parents. Kaufman & Cicchetti (1989), did a research aimed at addressing the impacts of ill-treatment on the socio-emotional development of school going children. The study was conducted in a day camp center where children commuted from home to school on a daily basis. For the purpose of their study, they focused on neglected, physically and emotionally abused children. The assessment aimed at measuring the self-esteem of these children to establish the impact caused by abuse. Abused and neglected children tend to exhibit impaired cognitive and resilience development. These kids are unable to relate well with their peers since they feel out of place and unwanted. Also, their low self-esteem limits them from associating well with other persons. Kaufman & Cicchetti (1989) established that physically abused children show more aggression when confronted than children suffering from other forms of abuses. The study also showed that children, regardless of the abuse they undergo, develop low self-esteem and have weak social interaction skills.

A vast body of literature has indicated the adverse development outcome of neglect and abuse during childhood. Much of this literature aims at establishing how these children relate to the society as well as their cognitive development. Interaction with other kids is a vital stage in the growth of a child and forms the basis of how they will interact in their adult life. Good peer relationship forms the backbone of mutuality, cooperation, and moral development. A study by Charlotte, Patterson, & Kupeersmidt (1998), established that abused children are unpopular among their peers and fail to grasp the opportunities to socialize with their families or in the larger community. These kids develop the idea that they are unwanted by their parents, peers, and other persons and hence suffer dire consequences of adverse social contact. Parents who subject their children to any form of abuse are said to have poor social skills and tend to isolate themselves from other community members. These parents have few friends and are irritated by persons visiting their homes. Thus, abused children lack role models and continue to have poor behavior and problems during interpersonal relations. Children who were not subjected to maltreatment within the same social, economic status, the children exposed to abuse regularly indicate more maladaptive functioning as not expected within their childhood stage. This provides enough scientific prove that maltreatment practice is harmful to children as stated in systematic theory. The theory is based on multi-finality which argues that maltreated individuals show high competence in body functioning regardless of their ignominious treatment (Glaser, 2002).

Through consideration of child abuse and psychological maltreatment, it is imperative to note that maintenance of a stable parent-child relationship lies on the parent. Sometimes, children become arrogant and may seem to defy what their parents demand from them (Battle et al. 2004). In severe circumstances, children behave in a manner that causes stress and depression to their parents. However, it is upon the parent to ensure that despite these situations, they do not result in verbal abuse. In the case that the parents are incapable of dealing with the children's situation, they should seek for assistance (Glaser, 2002). In a situation whereby the parents cannot obtain any assistance, thus other individuals should intercede on behalf of them. Neglect and emotional abuse are occurring autonomously, compared to other forms of ill-treatment and neglect. For example, physical neglect is associated with emotional neglect although the vice versa does not apply. Psychological maltreatment is clearly distinguished from other forms of neglect and child abuse. In physical abuse, an abuser is usually a person close to the Child's life (Glaser, 2002). In a nuclear family, either both parents abuse the child or one parent is unable to conquer the offender and protect the child efficiently. At times, the situation may result in a family breakup so as to protect the child from the abusive life. An Early therapy session may also be practiced on the abusive parent so as to rescue the child from the situation and avoid family breakup. If the maltreatment is silent with no physical evidence on the child, it becomes hard to bring it to an end.

Neglect and abuse can be classified into five categories. One group consists of neglect, emotional absence, and unresponsiveness. In this category, parental insensitivity is emphasized which involves the parents are incapable of taking care of their children as there are extremely committed to their work, either under drug influence or mentally incapacitated. The second category entails negative attribution to the child. Under this category, most parents portray weird behavior on their children as they bring them up and consequently, the kids adopt the same behavior. The third group involves unpredictable connections between the child and parent where the guardian presume that their kids do not perform to their expectation. In this category, there exist various interactions that entail parental suicide and domestic violence. Also, these parents are not conversant with proper discipline and parenting practices which lead them to engage in child abuse without their knowledge. Their interactions with kids are harmful, misguided, and in most cases, thoughtless. Failure to recognize the child's individuality and psychological borderline (Glaser, 2002). The last occurs when a parent expects more than the child can deliver. The parents presume that the child would fulfill their dreams and when they do not, they mistreat them. Emotional distress can originate from custody and disagreements when there are parents' divorce proceedings.

Inefficiency in the promotion of children's social adaptations occurs where the parent does not allow the child to interact with other children in the community. Lack of sufficient cognitive stimulation of the child leads to missed opportunities for childhood development which may inflict emotional stress on the children. Another category involves commission and omission where abused children are isolated from the society. Once the association between the chi...