A Social Work Perspective on Child Abuse: The Case of Texas
Child abuse is a blanket term for four types of child mistreatment: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect (Baker, 1999). The Child Protective Services Agency in the State of Texas (Legal definitions ofà, 2002) defines child abuse as including acts or omissions by any person leading to mental or emotional injury to a child that results in material and observable impairment in the child's growth, development, or psychological functioning. This definition includes recognition of the presence of physical injury, mental or emotional injury, failure to make a reasonable effort to prevent such harm, sexual conduct harmful to the child, compelling a child to participate in sexual conduct or pornographic activities, and allowing a child to use a controlled substance (Legal definitions ofà, 2002).
According to Baker (1999), as of 1996 there were more than 3 million reports of alleged cases of child abuse received by child protective services (CPS) in the United States. Some 1.5 percent of the nation's children were confirmed victims of child abuse in 1996. Parents were abusers in 77 percent of all cases, other relatives in 11 percent. Sexual abuse was more likely to be committed by males, whereas females were responsible for the majority of neglect cases. More than 1,000 American children died from child abuse in 1966 (Baker, 1999).
Youth under age 18, regardless of their racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, or family constellation, are seen by Baker (1999) as potentially at risk for victimization via one or more forms of child abuse. While child abuse is a problem that cuts across all types of socio-demographic boundaries, Baker (1999) stated that reported cases usually involve poor families with little education; young mothers, single-parent families, and parental alcohol or drug abuse are also common in reported cases. About 10 percent û or as m...