Child abuse or maltreatment is a serious problem in the United States today; in fact, about three million cases of child abuse are reported each year. It was also estimated in 1998 that approximately 1,500,000 children are moderately to seriously abused with three thousand of the youngest children dying because their body is too weak to stand up to the abuse (Alex Morales, USA Magazine). According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine child abuse is the blanket term for four types of child mistreatment: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Furthermore, children who are abused are usually subjected to more than one type of these forms of abuse. Although experts are quick to point out that child abuse is an occurrence that knows no social, ethnic, or income barriers, the majority of reported cases usually involve poor families with little education.
It is important to further investigate the meaning of the four types of child abuse under the current definition. Physical abuse is the nonaccidental infliction of physical injury to a child and, in most cases, that injury comes from a family member or other caretaker who is more likely to be of a male sex. An intriguing case of child abuse is called Munchausen syndrome, in which the caretaker, who is usually a mother, seeks attention by making the child sick or appear to be sick. Physical abuse made up 24% of all the reported cases of child abuse in 1996. According to Charles F. Johnson, sexual abuse is any activity with a child, before the age of legal consent that is for the sexual gratification of an adult or a significantly older child. Furthermore, it includes sexual touching and penetration, persuading a child to expose his or her sexual organs, and allowing a child to view pornography. In 1996, sexual abuse comprised 12% of all the reported cases of child abuse.
Emotional abuse is defined, according to Richard D.
