PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES IN ABUSED AND NEGLECTED SCHOOL CHILDREN EXPOSED TO FAMILY VIOLENCE

Although family should be the basis for the development and formation of a child’s personality, violence is mostly done in the family, and remains undiscovered for a long time. The real number of abused children is much more than that displayed in the registered cases. The secrecy of the problem is an important feature of this phenomenon. Families in which abuse takes place are mostly isolated. Social isolation does not come about by chance; secrecy is usually encouraged by an abuser to control over famoly members. In most cases, social reaction to violence is late, inadequate and focused on the consequences, but not on the causes. “Abuse implies an act of execution that directly inflicts damage, while neglect implies an act of non-fulfillment of something that is necessary for the well-being of a child”. The most common forms of domestic violence are physical, emotional abuse in the presence of violence against the mother, and in a lesser extent sexual abuse. In addition, there is physical, emotional, educational and medical neglect. The presence of violence against the mother and the feeling of impotence leave the same consequences as the endured violence. It is considered that children living in violent families are likely to live under cumulative stress. Traumatic responses include a wide range of conditions from acute stress reactions through post-traumatic stress disorder to complex long-lasting, repeated trauma syndrome. All children will not react to this kind of experience in the same way, with the protective and risk factors in developmental psychopathology having a significant role to play. Because of their developmental vulnerability and dependency, children are at greater risk of violence than adults. Researches point to the need for a multidisciplinary approach to treatment and prevention of child abuse, with greater interaction between health institutions, relevant centers for social work, police, court, government and non-governmental sector, and the existence of adequate family and criminal laws