Saturday, March 23, 2013
Week 3
I decided to conduct my research on how child abuse affects the social and emotional development of teenagers. The teen years are so important socially with peers. My personal experience with this area is my cousin. She was an only child and her dad was abusive towards her when she was younger. From ages 10-13, she was emotionally and physically abused by her dad and watched him abuse her mom as well. Her mom finally got her out of the situation, but the effects were long-lasting. I watched her suffer through her teenage years as she struggled to deal with the emotional and social issues. She would not let herself get close to anyone, did not have many friends, refused to date and just do normal teenage things like hanging out with friends and going places. She withdrew socially and her grades suffered. She barely finished high school. It was sad to watch her go through all of that. I want to learn more about how to help teenagers like my cousin. It makes me sad that physical abuse affects their social and emotional development like it does. If anyone can offer advice or research materials to help me, I would greatly appreciate it.
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Misty, I totally understand what you are talking about. I know we all have had someone in our lives that have suffered from some type of abuse. I also had a friend in school and did not know how to help. As an adult I have search so many site to seek help for a friend of mine that is sufferring abuse from her husband and I found this site helpful http://www.deborahkingcenter.com/resources/abuse/ I also receive their newsletters to read the most up to date information. You could try to contact social services in your area and they would be able to give you information on abuse and some sites to look up as well. A few years ago I called social services to help a teenage girl in by care and I meet with them to see how I can help teach boys and girls when to speak up, it was an awesome class. I will keep my eyes and ears open for new information on how to help. Also I will look through my binders from other early childhood classes to see if I have any articles for you.
ReplyDeleteAbuse changes who people are forever. It can change their approach to life, relationships, and interactions in many ways. I think that organizations and people who inspire self-worth and empower abuse victims have a positive impact on how their social and emotional outlook recovers from abuse. Perhaps look at organizations like GEMS (http://www.gems-girls.org/about).
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