The range of social, environmental, personal, and social factors that influence the health status of individuals are known as determinants of health. For a long time, known and written aspects about health have been focused on the healthcare system and the contribution of medicine, which is majorly still the underlying angle that most people are conversant with. However, the healthcare system encompasses aspects that are independent such as the health of a given population. The health of a given population is subject to effect by various determinants situated in the environment outside the system. This paper is going to consider the health determinants for child abuse and neglect. Children being the health population are subject to certain factors related to abuse and neglect that affect their health.
Research has revealed various factors that are commonly associated with the abuse and neglect of children. Abuse and neglect can be collectively termed as maltreatment. Children living in environments featuring these factors have a higher likelihood of experiencing neglect and abuse. These determinants can be can be categorized to include parent or caregiver factors, family factors, environmental and economic factors among others. These factors determine health of children as they are related to the well-being and development of children.
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Parent or caregiver factors are focused on the individual traits of a parent or a caregiver, age and propensity of substance abuse. The traits of a parent or caregiver may include aspect such their response to stress, mental health, and history of violence or anger issues. A parent or caregiver with a substance abuse problem is likely to place a child at risk of neglect and abuse. According to Klevens et al. (2015), research indicates that two thirds of child abuse and neglect cases can be attributed to substance abuse to a large degree. The age of a parent can also be a factor in that younger parents such as teen parents are likely to abuse children, as they were not psychologically prepared for the responsibility that comes with being a parent.
Family factors are based on situations such as the aspect of single parenthood, abuse in the family among other stressful aspects that can advance the likelihood of abuse or neglect. Single parents may undergo certain stressful conditions that heighten the risk of exposing the children to abuse or neglect. Domestic violence is also a family factor that predisposes a child to neglect or abuse. Therefore, family factors are tied to the structure of the family in terms of single parenthood and the relationship between members of the family. Violence in the family, of any kind is a heath determinant for child abuse and neglect (Chung et al., 2016).
Environmental and social factors are tied to unemployment, poverty, and social isolation. These factors are a contributing factor to a child’s increased risk of neglect and abuse. In this respect, factors such as the neighborhood in which a child grows up can be health determinants of abuse and neglect. Poverty and bad economic conditions are known to have an effect on abuse and neglect of children.
References
Chung, E. K., Siegel, B. S., Garg, A., Conroy, K., Gross, R. S., Long, D. A., ... & Yin, H. S. (2016). Screening for Social Determinants of Health Among Children and Families Living in Poverty: A Guide for Clinicians. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care .
Klevens, J., Barnett, S. B. L., Florence, C., & Moore, D. (2015). Exploring policies for the reduction of child physical abuse and neglect. Child abuse & neglect , 40 , 1-11.
