Title: Why Parents Target a Specific Child for Abuse
Headings: Why Parents Target a Specific Child for Abuse
Why Parents Target a Specific Child for Abuse
Content: While all of the children were neglected in some way, the teenage boy was singled out for torturous physical abuse and severe neglect that almost led to his death. At the time of this writing, the parents were still in jail. We can only speculate why both his biological mother and stepfather targeted this boy. But even speculation has its basis in fact. So what are the facts? We know that some children are more at risk for abuse than others. A child with poor cognitive skills and who exhibits behavioural problems is at significant risk for child abuse. Other risk factors for children and youth include their sexual orientation and a disability. Children who have a dependency for personal care for such disabilities as the inability to see, hear, move, communicate, dress, toilet or bathe themselves independently are more vulnerable to rough, careless or intrusive care, or neglect of their personal needs. An American study found that parents are almost twice as likely to abuse a child with a disability as without a disability.