ABSTRACT: Childhood abuse, which manifests in adverse childhood events such as neglect and physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, is widespread in the United States. Each year, the Child Protective Services agency rescues more than one-half million children from maltreatment. Because of their accessibility, pharmacists are well positioned to save lives and enhance overall societal health by identifying and reporting child abuse. The pharmacist’s role includes being knowledgeable about child abuse, recognizing signs of abuse, identifying characteristics of perpetrators, handling disclosures, and reporting suspected abuse to the appropriate authorities. Being equipped with information on identifying and reporting child abuse enables pharmacists to break the cycle of abuse across the U.S., thereby safeguarding the most vulnerable members of society.
Child abuse, a known issue across the United States, has a high incidence; more than 61% of persons report having experienced at least one adverse childhood event (ACE) before age 18 years. ACEs encompass a variety of traumatic situations, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse as well as neglect and household dysfunction, and they have widespread effects on both the individual and society as a whole. Child abuse, maltreatment, and neglect impact children of all ages, races, ethnicities, and sociodemographic backgrounds.
Child abuse, a known issue across the United States, has a high incidence; more than 61% of persons report having experienced at least one adverse childhood event (ACE) before age 18 years. ACEs encompass a variety of traumatic situations, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse as well as neglect and household dysfunction, and they have widespread effects on both the individual and society as a whole. Child abuse, maltreatment, and neglect impact children of all ages, races, ethnicities, and sociodemographic backgrounds.
Types of Childhood Trauma and Abuse
The National Children’s Alliance reported that in 2018, an estimated 678,000 U.S. children were survivors of abuse and neglect. Each year, the Child Protective Services (CPS) agency rescues more than 650,000 children from maltreatment. Childhood trauma can consist of either a single incident (known as acute trauma) or repeated or continuous incidents (called chronic trauma). Additionally, trauma is not always one specific type but can be a mix of multiple kinds of abuse or several unrelated circumstances (referred to as complex trauma).
Individual trauma is often described as a set of circumstances that a person experiences as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening and has lasting adverse effects on the person’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being. Although trauma is individualized and adverse effects are subjective among individuals, common types of trauma include ACEs, sociocultural trauma, generational trauma, institutional and structural racism, and collective or community-level trauma. Circumstances such as threatened death, severe illness or injury, accidents, death of loved ones, divorce, mental health conditions, substance use, interpersonal violence, and incarceration of family members are other sources of trauma. Types of trauma experienced differ among individuals, but trauma is generally considered anything that causes a person harm and involves a heightened sense of fear, helplessness, feelings of being overwhelmed, or isolation.