Physical Abuse of the Young
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Hover over keys for definitions:Child abuse is broadly defined as physical abuse, which may or may not lead to death of the child. Child abuse is not unique to humans and is likely present in the majority of non-human primates and non-primate animals. Although this behavior is common among primates, certain types of abuse are not documented in other species, such as sex-biased abuse towards female children and verbal abuse. Understanding the basic reasons for this behavior may facilitate improved treatment and counseling programs.
Child abuse is a well-documented behavior observed in humans and other hominids. Reported incidents, as well as experimental evidence, suggest child abuse leads to differing levels of physical/mental trauma and in some instances might lead to death. Abuse in non-primate societies mostly results from stressful situations or in response to infant physical abnormalities. Therefore, the relevance of child abuse studies in non-human primates to human child abuse is highly debated. Additionally, previous maternal deprivation studies in monkeys are highly criticized, making further studies difficult to conduct.
The cause, extent, and types of child abuse differ among human societies. Child abuse is highly complex, with speculated reasons being stress-induced responses, parental behavioral changes, and external factors. Domestic violence in families appears to predispose higher levels of child abuse. Child abuse can be associated with training the child for a socially accepted behavior. Additionally, several societies show sex-biased abuse towards female children, a trait only documented in humans. Finally, humans are the only documented primate to verbally abuse their offspring possibly leading to severe mental damage
Abusive behavior against children is universal in human populations, although the extent differs between societies. A few societies show selective child abuse against female children. Reports on hunter-gatherer societies show infanticide of one twin or a physically deformed infant. These societal level child abuse phenomena may result from social or religious beliefs.
In general, child abuse is related to stress and past experiences that manifested as abuse to children. However the specific differences vary among individuals.
While child abuse in humans might cause temporary physical trauma, most of the time it results in long-term mental trauma leading to physiological or mental manifestations in a child’s later life. Understanding the basic reasons for this behavior may facilitate improved treatment and counseling programs.
Other animals occasionally show abusive behavior, like child abuse, or child abandonment due to stress or limited resources. In some cases cannibalism of the killed infants is observed.
References
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Child abuse in the context of domestic violence: prevalence, explanations, and practice implications., , Violence Vict, Volume 23, Issue 2, p.221-35, (2008)
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In the best interests of society., , J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 2007 Mar-Apr, Volume 48, Issue 3-4, p.392-411, (2007)
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Child abuse and neglect--usefulness of the animal data: comment on Maestripieri and Carroll (1998), , Psychol Bull, 05/1998, Volume 123, Issue 3, p.224-30, (1998)
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Infant abuse and neglect in monkeys--a discussion of definitions, epidemiology, etiology, and implications for child maltreatment: reply to Cicchetti (1998) and Mason (1998), , Psychol Bull, 05/1998, Volume 123, Issue 3, p.234-7, (1998)
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Child abuse: evidence from nonhuman primates., , Dev Psychobiol, 09/1980, Volume 13, Issue 5, p.507-12, (1980)
