Child Abuse: Understanding, Assessment and Response Strategies

Child abuse is defined as any action that hurts a child. It can occur in a variety of ways such as emotional, physical and sexual abuse as well as exploitation and neglect. The abuser is frequently someone the child knows. It could be a relative, parent, a close family friend or caregiver. However, children are sometimes also abused by other adults on whom they are dependent such as day care workers, sports trainers and teachers. Child abuse assessment is performed to either assess claims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect in order to aid in legal decision making. The long-term impacts of child abuse can be lessened with proper mental and physical health care. This book presents the complex subject of child abuse in the most comprehensible and easy to understand language. Coherent flow of topics, student-friendly language and extensive use of examples make this book an invaluable source of knowledge.