Child abuse Child abuse Child abuse Child abuse Child abuse is the physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment of a child. The child's parent or guardian is the most common abuser. Child abuse includes such acts as beating a child, starving a child, or having an incestuous relationship with a child. Child abuse or neglect may result in permanent physical or psychological damage.
Abuse can sometimes be fatal, especially in younger children.
Reports of child abuse have increased in the United States over the last few years, but this may be due more to an increased awareness of the problem, as well as improved methods of reporting it, rather than to an actual increase in the incidence of abuse. Child abuse is the result of a complex set of variables that involves the parent, child, and the external environment. Often, there is a failure or breakdown in self-control on the part of the parent or guardian. Many experts cite four primary reasons for this breakdown. Abusive individuals often received little warmth or affection themselves as children and consequently are unable to bestow warmth and affection on their own children.