+ Respect for father, or abusive parent, demanded

+ Social isolation

+ Abusive behavior is used as a substitute for communication

+ Parents tend to have self-centered personalities

+ Increased risk of other forms of family violence (spousal abuse, etc)

Characteristics of the Child Abuser

+ Most often the biological father

+ Controlling; uses excessive discipline

+ Has a difficulty controlling impulses

+ Alcohol/drug abuse

+ Denies any accusations

+ Places the blame on the victim

Characteristics of the Child Abuse Survivor

+ Changes in behavior at school or at home

+ Sleep disturbances (insomnia, bed wetting, nightmares)

+ Unexplained and sudden fears

+ Loss of appetite

+ Excessive anger or reckless behavior

+ A new reluctance to spend time with certain people

+ A need for more reassurance than usual

+ Overwhelming knowledge of sexual behavior

+ Isolation from friends, limited participation in social activities

+ Depression

+ Drug or alcohol use

+ Chronic running away

+ Increase in physical complaints (miscellaneous illnesses)

+ Inappropriate attention-getting behavior

+ Suicide attempts

+ Self inflicted physical abuse (self-mutilation)

+ Poor self-esteem

+ Problems in school (missing class, grades)

+ Prostitution

Child Abuse Statistics

 + Child abuse occurs in 30-60% of family violence cases that involve families with children.

+ Child abuse is 15 times more likely to occur in families where domestic violence is present.

+ Over 3 million children are at risk of exposure to parental violence each year.

+ Reported cases of child abuse have increased by 63% in the last 10 years.

+ Reported cases of fatalities caused by child abuse have increased by 48% in the past ten years.

+ According to recent surveys, physical abuse represented 21% of confirmed cases, sexual abuse 11%, neglect 49%,

    emotional abuse 3% and other forms of abuse 16%.

+ Approximately 45% of deaths occurred to children who have been former clients of child protective services.

+ The general population of adults shows that anywhere from 6 to 63% of adults have been abused as children.

+ It is reported that 9 to 10 million children , under the age of 18 are directly affected by substance-abusing parents.