Child Abuse And Its Effects On Development

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CHILD ABUSE AND ITS EFFECTS ON DEVELOPMENT 2 Abstract This paper explores how child abuse from birth to adolescence can severely effect a child's development. Following Erik Erickson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development and examining the first five steps in detail, will help explain the possible negative outcomes of development. The references in this paper are both research based results as well as first person experiences. The Mayo Clinic staff (2009) stated that traumatic events in childhood increase the risk of borderline personality disorder and other mental health problems. Emotional trauma at a time when the brain isn't fully developed may cause changes to the brain and decrease a person's ability to deal with stressful situations later in their life. The hope is that this paper will enlighten the reader in regard to how negative events in the early stages of development can severely affect the person in maturity. CHILD ABUSE AND ITS EFFECTS ON DEVELOPMENT 3 Child Abuse and its Effects on Development Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development is one of the best theories of personality in psychology. Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages. Erikson's theory describes the impact of social experience across one's life span. One of the main elements of Erikson's psychosocial stage theory is the development of ego identity. Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that develops through social interactions. As stated by Erikson, ego identity is constantly changing due to the new experiences and information acquired in every day lives dealing with others. (Hopkins, 2000) In addition to ego identity, Erikson also believed that a sense of competence also motivates behaviors as well as actions. Each stage of Erikson's theory is about
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