Sociological model of child abuse
The patterns of society, and also how they actually affected the family and how it was affecting the functioning of the family was researched in depth by sociologists. The things which were included were:
- Poor health care
- Social deprivation
- Poverty
- Unemployment
The main outcome of the research was that if a child has a deprived upbringing and background then they are going to be abused and that it is only these children who are going to be abused. However, it has since been found that it is not only children who had a deprived background who were abused but instead it could be that any child can be abused, regardless of what their background is.
Evaluation of the sociological model of child abuse
The sociological model of child abuse believed that abuse only happened in people/families that are within the lower social classes in society. However abuse can occur within families with any background, in any social class, and I also believe that there are many factors which can mean that a child is abused. Another point within this model of abuse is that it believed children who were abused themselves would infact abuse somebody else. However, I believe that this is not necessarily the case, and that it doesn’t follow this pattern. People who have been abused will often feel that abusing their own children is wrong because of how it made them feel.
Psychological model of child abuse
This relates to how families function, and it says that when a family ‘breakdown’ occurs, it should be known as ‘family dysfunctioning’. It believes that by taking part in therapy as a family then it can repair any poor relationships, and also that this, in turn can help to prevent child abuse. The theory believes that by taking part in this therapy it could mean that all of the problems within the one family are taken out on one child; this can either mean the youngest child, or the weakest child. However, it could also mean that all of the children in the family are abused
Evaluation of the psychological model of child abuse
This model of abuse believes that by receiving and taking part in family therapy that it can ‘cure’ and ‘fix’ any problems, and also that abuse within a family can be prevented through this. I do not, however, believe that by simply taking part in family therapy that it can cure any problems, or also that it can’t prevent child abuse happening, especially when the abuse has already taken part within the family. I also believe that if abuse takes part, either whether it is a member of the family who has made the abuse or not, that it is not only one person who is affected, it is often the whole family. I also feel that if it is that a member of the family has been the abuser then the effect on the family is even worse. This model believes that it is often the child within the family who is deemed as ‘weakest’ or the child who is the youngest, I feel that this I not the case because it can be anybody within a family who can receive abuse.
The feminist model of abuse
This model of abuse believes that women are the people who get abused, and that the abusing is done by the men of the world, this is turn means that men are seen as the dominant people of the world, and that the whole of society should see them as this. This means that child abuse is generally an offense committed by men, and that the men are wanting to dominate women. This model of abuse sees that the abuse is being done by men who are trying to get what they want through domination, and by wanting to control their partner, and also their children.
Evaluation of the feminist model of abuse
This model of abuse believes that abuse is carried out by men who are trying to dominate and control the other members of their families, simply so that they are getting what they want. This model believes that women are abused because they are seen as weak within the eyes of society, and that they can be dominated easier than another man can. I feel that this is because typically these are the stereotypical views, that men are better than model etc.
I feel that after describing and evaluating all of the models of abuse that there is no specific model which is correct within every single child abuse case, this is because they are all individual, and that each case should be looked at individually, and that no stereotypes should be used throughout. I also think that there is not one specific theory which can be linked to a child abuse case, and therefore there is no single theorist which can be linked.
I will now go onto compare the models of abuse to each other.
The psychological model, and the medical model, both believe that there is a ‘cure’ for abuse. The psychological model believes that through participating in family therapy sessions then the family can be ‘cured’ and that any future abuse is prevented. And the social model believes that it can be cured simply because it is a disease.
The psychological model and the sociological model both believe that the reason of why abuse happened is centred around families and how it functions. The sociological model believes that it is because of the background, and the society that the family lives in is the reason that abuse occurs. The psychological model believes that through therapy it can concentrate on the way that the family works, and that by giving the family therapy sessions it can help to ‘fix’ the family.
The feminist model and the psychological model both believe that within a family unit there is certain people who will get abused, as opposed to the others. The feminist model believes that it is the women with the family who will get abused simply because they are seen as the person who can be dominated. The psychological model believes that the weakest person within the family unit will be the one who is abused
The medical model and the feminist model both believe that abuse within a family unit is sometimes ‘unpreventable’. The medical model believes that sometimes abuse can be unpreventable for reasons known as ‘Kempe’s four factors of abuse’, and the feminist model believes that if a there is a situation that the ‘man of the house’ needs to sort, then it is perfectly fine for him to do it by abusing and dominating the adults.
