I recently finished briefly researching the effects of childhood violence on development and how divine intervention combats such an issue. The research is quite interesting, yet saddening at times, but it will definitely remind you of how blessed we truly are and of the hope we have in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Counting my blessings! I hope you enjoy!
From Violence to Victory: The
Journey Through a Child's Eyes
Courtney B. Lanza
Liberty University
The term orphan often calls to mind the dreadful child named Junior from the
movie Problem Child or the enchanted
singing of a hard-knock life from the curly red-headed Annie, but the distressing reality is that child neglect and abuse
leave nearly seventy-five thousand children in foster care each year in
America, raising the total number of orphans in the country to more than
one-half million (Feldman, 2014, p. 339). As if being removed from their homes
is not enough, the separation usually follows a traumatic life event such as
violence. Statistics by the American
Psychological Association, or APA, (2008) show that up to 66 percent of American
children are victims of physical violence, and as high as 43 percent experience
sexual violence. With such an issue on
the rise, it is beneficial to understand
the determining factors of violence, the developmental effects of such trauma,
and how divine intervention can combat the adverse affects caused by violence.
When it comes to childhood trauma,
nearly no child is left behind. In fact,
with nearly two-thirds of the youth population facing trauma before the age of
16, children, as well as guardians, should not view the issue as an on-watch weather predictor but rather a warning that affects the entire world
population (APA, 2008). Statistics
show that child abuse is more prevalent in environments that are more
stressful, of lower socioeconomic status, run by households with single-parents
or extreme marital conflicts, or in large families (Feldman, 2014, p. 523). However,
violence is not solely bound to factors of ethnicity, culture, income, education,
or social class, and a study by the United Nations Secretary-General called childhood
violence a global issue (Pinheiro, 2006). Children suffer legalized school
beatings in over 100 countries worldwide;
up to 65 percent of children are the victims of physical or verbal abuse
in the school system; as many as 150 million girls are victims of sexual assault,
as well as 73 million boys; and thousands of child deaths each year are
connected to homicide (Pinheiro, 2006). Sadly, these are the only statistics
for reported child abuse, not counting the many instances that are never
uttered or happen to fall on deaf ears. Nevertheless, the Child Abuse Prevention
and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1974 helps combat such issues in the U.S. by
removing children from such atrocious situations. However, as noted previously, the numbers of
foster-care children in America are staggering. "Approximately 41 percent
of all children in foster care are Caucasian, followed by 32 percent of
African-American children" (Martin, 2011, p. 70). Sadly, the story does not end with foster
care, and the violent trauma experienced by many children, including the
separation from family, leads to developmental setbacks.
The price for traumatic violence is
a debt most often paid by the children, who ultimately suffer physically,
mentally, and emotionally. "After exposure to a traumatic life event,
distress is almost universal," including "the development of new
fears, separation anxiety, nightmares,
sadness, reduced concentration, decline in schoolwork, anger, and
irritability" (APA, 2008). Furthermore, research suggests that "early
exposure to violence is critical because it can have an impact on the
architecture of the maturing brain" and "can lead to social,
emotional, and cognitive impairments, as well as behaviors that cause disease,
injury, and social problems" (Pinheiro, 2006). Examples of such issues
include the health risks of smoking, promiscuous sexual activity, substance
abuse, obesity, anxiety and depression, inhibited memory, aggressive behaviors,
suicide attempts, and long-term heart, liver, and kidney failure (Pinheiro,
2006). When a child is chronically exposed to violence at a young age, they
depend so much on the survival instincts of the brain that they, in essence,
"wear out other parts of the brain involved in higher level thinking"
(Wittmer & Peterson, 2006, p.72-73). After all, the Bible instructs to
"train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not
depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6, NKJV). Thus, children are trained by
constant violence and abuse to only use the survival parts of the brain.
Furthermore, if children are neglected as a child or put into foster care where
they do not receive much love and stimulation from caregivers, research has
shown that those children actually develop smaller-than-average brains (Wittmer
& Peterson, 2006, p. 72-73). The positive correlation between brain
development and cognitive advances means that when one is inhibited so is the
other, which can lead to developmental delays in the future of abused and
neglected children. Unless dealt with appropriately, children could also fall
into the cycle of abuse and continue it as an adult.
When children have spent so much
time in fear and despair with many questioning what they did wrong, they simply
need the answer of consistent love and hope. They need Jesus, the one who is
the "same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8, NIV). In the
early stages of childhood, children go through what is called the intuitive
projective stage, ages two to six, and the mythical-literal stage, ages six to
ten, where children view God according to the way they have been taught by the
society around them; eventually, the children also begin internalizing these
stories of God and deciding for themselves what they view as real or not real
(Newberg & Newberg, 2006, p. 189-191). It would be dreadful for a child to
only view God as a being that allowed them to endure violence, hate, and
neglect and have that vision engrained in their belief system for life. Rather,
they also need to learn that God is a loving
and just God. He allows people to have troubles but encourages them to
take heart in knowing that He has overcome the world (John 16:33). They need to
know that they are fearfully and wonderfully created in the image of God and so
loved that God gave up his only son for them (Psalm 139:14; Genesis 1:27; John
3:16). They need to know and believe that in time God will right all wrongs and
repay those who have wronged them (2 Thessalonians 1:6). Therefore, the reading
of Bible stories could be a great asset in treating the effects of trauma in
children. The power of prayer cannot be denied, either. Newberg and Newberg
(2006) emphasize that "the sense of having a union with some higher power
or fundamental state...helps reduce existential anxiety as well as provide a
sense of control over the environment" (p. 185). God is the ultimate healer, and he can heal
the hurt of the heart as well as the bruises and the brain. Once again,
children have hope in a Creator who can and will, in turn, make all things new
(Revelation 21:5).
Violence is a real problem among
today's children and one that is seemingly inescapable on a global level.
Children endure traumatic abuse and neglect that leaves lasting effects on
their development. Thankfully, there is hope. When the world around seems to
take advantage of the more naive and innocent members of the population, there
is a God who says, "Let the little children come to me" (Matthew
19:14, NLT). Even more so, God is able to do much more than one can think or
imagine and can work all things together for the good (Ephesians 3:20; Romans
8:28). The cycle of violence can be interrupted, but in order to do so, it is
vital to understand the factors that lead to violence, the lasting results of
experiencing such trauma, and how to utilize divine intervention to solve a
crisis that humanly seems impossible to cure.
References
American
Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder and Trauma in Children and Adolescents. (2008). Children and trauma: Update for mental health professionals.
Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/update.pdf.
Feldman,
R.S. (2014). Development across the lifespan (7th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Newberg,
A.B., & Newberg, S.K. (2006). A neuropsychological perspective on spiritual
development. In Roehlkepartain et al. (Eds.), The handbook of spiritual
development in childhood and adolescence (pp.183-196). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications, Inc.
Pinheiro,
P.S. (2006). World report on violence
against children. Geneva, Switzerland: ATAR Roto Presse SA.
Wittmer,
D. S., & Peterson, S. H. (2010). The
effects of stress and violence on brain development. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/effects-stress-violence-brain-development/.
