The experience of children who were abused or neglected : mental health professionals' perspectives

Abstract

This research qualitatively explores mental health professionals’ perspectives with respect to children who have experienced abuse and neglect. The term abuse refers to sexual, physical, and psycho-emotional abuse as well as neglect, however I decided to separate neglect from abuse as my findings have identified different consequences. Thereupon, I split abuse from neglect. Six social workers were recruited with the help of Agenzija Appogg which acted as my gatekeeper. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted in person with these professionals and then the data was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings focused on the impact of child abuse and neglect, with an emphasis on both short-term and long-term consequences. In addition, the study’s findings included the recognition that global developmental delays can sometimes be mistakenly attributed to a diagnosis, when in fact they may be the result of neglect. This study is expected to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect, leading to the development of more services to help those who go through such experiences. Additionally, more services may be offered to parents to help them understand the importance of meeting their children’s needs. Such services may include providing short courses to help parents prioritise their children’s needs.