12.3 Child Malnourishment

Child malnourishment: action or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that results in physical or emotional harm to a child or a risk of serious harm  

• Any adult could maltreat a child 

• 77% of cases the perpetrator is the child’s parent 

• 2021 588,229 american children were confirmed as victims 

• Girls more likely than boys

• Infants under 1 are to greatest risk – victimized at twice the rate of older children 

• The need to provide constant care to infants can overwhelm the resources of some parents and can lead them to act violently towards their infants, and because infants are particularly vulnerable to maltreatment, such as abusive head trauma, as a result of their early development state 

• 4 main types of maltreatment 

• Neglect: the failure of a caregiver to provide the necessary food, water, shelter, clothing, medical care, or supervision, such that the child’s health and safety are harmed or threatened 

• Physical abuse: any behavior that results in non-accidental physical injury of child 

• Emotional abuse: involves a pattern of behavior in which a caregiver demeans, rejects, repeatedly criticizes, or withholds love from a child or otherwise communicates to a child that the child is worthless, unloved, or unwanted 

• Sexual abuse: involves sexual acts or sexual exploitation involving children; it includes both inappropriate touching of a child and exposure to sexual content such a pornography 

• Most common form is neglect

Polyvictimization: the co-occurence of multiple forms of maltreatment

• Many children die of maltreatment each year – 1753 in 2021 alone, nearly half of whom were under 1 

• Nearly 5 children die each day due to maltreatment 

Risks of maltreatment 

• Parents’ lack of knowledge about child’s needs and abilities or strong negative reaction to stress 

• Low income, inadequate housing and material resources, or social isolation 

• Parental alcohol and drug dependence

• Abusive relationship 

• Exposure to domestic violence is a form of maltreatment because of the trauma can conflict 

• Parents with a history of being maltreated themselves are 3 times as likely to maltreat their own children 

Consequences of maltreatment

• Children experience a range of immediate outcomes

• Effects emerge early

• 3 months old who have been physically abused show increased rates of fearfulness, anger and sadness while interacting with mother 

• Later in infancy – at risk of developing disorganized/disoriented attachment pattern 

• Increased risk of developing cognitive delays and antisocial behaviors and of engaging in risky behaviors in adolescence and into adulthood 

• Increased likelihood of being diagnosed with psychiatric disorders – more severe and less amenable to treatment 

• Physical abuse – heightened response to anger cues that manifests in increased aggressive behavior, changes on brain functioning, and other physiological responses that are typical responses to threats and increased negative emotion 

• The more chronic the abuse, the worse the outcomes for the child later in life 

• Significant health consequences