CAUSES OF CHILD ABUSE

• Family structure

Certain types of families have an increased risk of child abuse and neglect. However, single parents families usually earn less money than other families. So this may account for the increased risk of child abuse. Families with chronic marital discord or spousal abuse have higher rates of child abuse than families without these problem. In addition, families in which either the husband of wife dominates in making important decisions. Such as where to live, what jobs to take, when to have children, and how much money to spend on food and housing- have higher rates of child abuse than families in which parents share responsibility of these decisions.

• Social stress

Stress brought on by a variety of social conditions raises the risk of child abuse within a family. These conditions include unemployment illness, poor housing conditions, a larger than average family size. The presence of a family member. A large majority of reported cases of child abuse come from familiarities living in poverty. Child abuse also occurs in middle class and wealthy family, but it is better reported among the poor several reasons. Wealthier families have an easier time hiding abuse because they have less contact with social agencies than poor families.

• Social isolation and low community involvement.

Parents and caretakers who abuse children tend to be society isolated. Few violent parents belong to any community organizations, and most have little contact with friends or relatives. This lack of social involvement deprives abusive parents of support systems that would help them deal better with social or family stress. Moreover, the lack of community contacts makes the parents less likely to change their behavior to confirm with community contacts the parents less likely to changes their behavior to confirm with community values and standard . Cultural factors often determine the amount of community support a family receives. In cultures with low rates of child abuse, child care is usually considered the responsibility of the community. That is, neighbors, relatives and friends helps with child care when the parents are unwilling or unable. In the United State, parents often shoulder child care demands by themselves, which may result in a higher risk of stress and child abuse.