Do chronic illnesses increase children’s risk of being maltreated?

Pages: 1074-1077
Nisha Kumari and Anubhuti Dubey (Department of Psychology, D.D.U. Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pardesh)

Child abuse and neglect signify risks to child well-being and health. Widespread endeavors are being done to enhance the attentiveness concerning threat issues of child abuse and neglect. Over the periods of time, studies have been carried out in the area of child maltreatment. But child maltreatment regarding chronic illnesses has obtained less attention, which is extremely crucial to make sure that children with chronic illnesses are acknowledged as a populace that is also at threats of mistreatment. A chronic illness affects almost each phase of a person’s life and leaves an upsetting impression on the lives of everyone concerned. It is perceived that mistreatment regarding chronic conditions envisages more depressing outcomes than secluded mistreatment. On the whole, the source of abuse and neglect of children with chronic illnesses are very similar as those for every child; but, there are a number of factors like- children with chronic illnesses frequently put elevated physical, social, affective and financial loads on their families that may increase the possibility of abuse for children with chronic illnesses. Along with, for these children a large amount of intense care is required, which itself can be worrying. Particularly, the parents with restricted communal and societal help may be at high threat of mistreating children with chronic illnesses, because they may experience more disturbed and incapable to cope with the concerns and care liabilities. Lack of break in child care liabilities can contribute to an enlarged threat of maltreatment. This review paper attempts to illustrate an overview of how children with chronic illnesses becoming sufferers of abuse and neglect.