INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT IN PORT HARCOURT METROPOLIS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Child abuse has for an extended time been recorded in literature, art and science in several parts of the world, reports of infanticide, mutilation, abandonment and dierent forms of abuse against children date back to ancient civilizations. The Chronicle is also filled with additional reports of unkempt, weak and malnourished children force or cast out by families to fend for themselves and of children who have been sexually abused. There is an existed charitable group and others concerned with children’s wellbeing who have advocated the protection of children over a period of time. Nevertheless, the issue of child abuse did not receive widespread attention by the general public and medical profession not until 1962, through the publication of a seminar work, the battered child syndrome, by Kempe et al. (1962). Now, four decades later, there is clear evidence that child abuse is a global problem. It occurs in a variety of forms and is deeply rooted in cultural, economic and social practices. Solving this global problem, however, requires a much better understanding of its occurrence in a range of settings, as well as of its causes and consequences in these settings. In 2011 approximately 5.5 million children were referred to state child protective agencies for suspected abuse or neglect (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Child abuse appears to put children at risk for a host of negative outcomes (Cicchetti & Toth, 2011). In particular, child abuse appears to have a negative impact on the development of children’s social and emotional regulation skills (Alessandri, 2010; Shipman & Zeman, 2015). Considerable progress has been made during the last three decades in our understanding of the socio-emotional consequences of child abuse. Developmental psychopathology, in particular, has greatly influenced our understanding of the consequences of child abuse (see Cicchetti, 2011). While a great deal is known about the socioemotional consequences of abuse during childhood, comparably little is known about the long-term effects of abuse. The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) (2014) indicated a significant rise in reported child abuse and neglect incidents in recent years. The increase presents a public problem that must be addressed through advocacy for child right protection.