Critical Summary
The article “Child maltreatment and the development of substance use and disorder”
discusses the correlation and connection between substance abuse and child abuse in the perspective of the child growing up to struggle with abuse as the after math of child abuse. It is explained how studies have shown that many victims of child abuse are exposed to risk factors that lead to substance abuse. Due to this, they are much more likely to have “problematic” outcomes (Cicchetti & Handley 2019). When children are exposed to maltreatment, their developmental systems are disrupted and can lead to other issues. These kids are more likely to deal with mental health issues and non regulated emotions. Factors as such are ones that lead to negative outlets, wrong crowds, and thus substance abuse comes into play. It is also important to note that in many cases, the parents themselves may be substance abusers which can allow the child to believe it is a norm. (Cicchetti & Handley 2019).
Reflection
After reading the article I found it really interesting how the studies showed the way a child’s mind can be disrupted through abuse. I think that many people fail to realize just how detrimental a child’s environment can be. They are at their most vulnerable in life and it is very important to protect them from traumatic experiences as such in order to allow them to develop properly. I also believe that this topic is very intersectional due to so many different factors affecting the outcome. These factors are extremely useful to think about when handling cases of child abuse in order to prevent issues such as substance abuse.
References
Cicchetti, D., & Handley, E. D. (2019, January 7). Child maltreatment and the development of substance use and disorder. Neurobiology of Stress. Retrieved January 21, 2023, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289518300213