Why do People Abuse?

Abuse: Who and Where?

• Most abuse happens in the home.
• Mothers and fathers are the most prevalent perpetrators; They represent approximately 70% of all cases.
• Familial* perpetrators constitute 93.5% of the total cases of abuse and neglect in Oregon.

  * Familial includes stepfathers, live-in companions and ex live-in companions.

Risk Factors

• Abuse of alcohol or drugs: In Oregon, 40% of the substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect involve drugs or alcohol. Mothers who abuse alcohol or drugs are preoccupied with their addictions, are either drunk or hung-over when their children are present and often become violent when the children place demands or become irritable. These homes are often chaotic, with little or no food in the home and lack daily routines. Furthermore, the mother frequently leaves the children unattended for extended periods of time with frequent compromises of health and safety. Neglect is the major reason that children are removed from the home in which parents have alcohol or other drug problems.

• Domestic Violence: A 1998 study cited by Womenspace indicates that 70% of men who abuse their partners also abuse their children. Other national studies cite the overlap between domestic violence and child physical or sexual abuse ranges from 30-50 percent. Parental conflict spills over and affects the children when the elements of anger, stress and violence explode in either short-term or long-term rage that produces both physical and psychological damage to the child. Children living in this environment come to believe that this behavior is acceptable.

• Isolation from families or communities: Isolated families lack the social support network needed to handle the daily stresses of raising children.

• Maladaptive parenting practices: Parents and caregivers who lack knowledge about early child development do not understand the importance of nurturing and stimulating interaction with the child during the first few years. If parents provide adequate stimulation for the child through language, visual, auditory and social interaction, then the child's brain becomes "hard-wired" for language development and appropriate socialization. Conversely, parents who abuse and/or neglect their infants cause major damage to the developing brain and neurological systems of their child.

• Serious economic, housing or personal problems: A 1991 study of families of physically abused children showed that as parental income decreased and family stress increased, parental satisfaction decreased--and child abuse increased. Families most at risk of child abuse and neglect were low-income, socially isolated families under stress (unemployment, heavy child care responsibility, drug and alcohol use, involvement with the law, domestic violence, and parental history of abuse as a child).

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Related Links

SCF Child Protection Services

Prevent Child Abuse America