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Child Neglect and Its Consequences Essay

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This paper explores the numerous effects neglect has on a child's development. If a child lacks the necessary attachment and stimulation during the critical first years, they will have profound developmental issues throughout life. Possibly the most important aspects that are affected by neglect are the brain and a child's social development. Looking into the case of the Romanian orphans, readers will be able to see the harsh consequences. Severe neglect is child abuse that often goes unnoticed and is hard to reverse. By understanding the implications of neglect, we can intervene earlier in order to prevent severe cases from becoming irrevocable.
Keywords: neglect, attachment, development

Introduction …show more content…

Although severe neglect isn't highly prevalent in today's society, it is still an important issue to be discussed. Without knowledge of the outcomes, there will be no motivation to intervene on the child's behalf.
Review of Literature
Impact of Neglect on the Brain In many cases of neglect, there has been an association with the brain failing to form appropriately. This causes impaired physical, mental, and emotional development (DePanfilis, 2006). A child's brain learns to adapt to a less than positive environment and this stunts the process of normal development. The brains of neglected children are not integrated and this causes difficulties in emotional, social, and cognitive development. The sensitive period, during the first two years of life, is a critical time in which brain activity faces severe psychosocial deprivation if faced with neglect and is unlikely to be recovered (Vanderwert, Marshall, Nelson III, Zeanah & Fox, 2010). Children who have experienced neglect in multiple areas, global neglect, may have significantly smaller brains than the norm. This indicates they have fewer neurological connections, leading to lifelong intellectual disadvantages (DePanfilis, 2006). Neglected children often have lower IQ's and extreme difficulties in learning new things. Lack of intellectual stimulation causes deficits in language development. Ultimately, neglect causes damages to the brain

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