Summary:

This Washington Post article discusses the findings from a major report by the National Academy of Science on child abuse and neglect that found that advances in brain research showed that child abuse and neglect damages not only in the way a developing child’s brain functions, but changes the actual structure of the brain itself.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2013/09/16/affects-of-child-abuse-can-last-a-lifetime-watch-the-still-face-experiment-to-see-why

This Washington Post article highlight the findings from the National Academy of Science's first major report on child abuse and neglect that found that advances in brain research now show that child abuse and neglect damages not only in the way a developing child’s brain functions, but changes the actual structure of the brain itself, in such a way that makes clear thinking, controlling emotions and impulses and forming healthy social relationships more difficult.

This article features a link to a video of an experiment conducted by a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, called the "still face experiment", in which a parent interact at first normally with their infant and suddenly stops doing so for a period of 2 minutes, staring at the infant with a still face. The video records the reaction by the infant. 

The article reports that recent studies have found that four-month-old infants exposed to the "still face" will remember it two weeks later, rapidly showing physiological changes to negative responses that infants exposed to it for the first time do not. It discusses the implications of the experiement and the findings from the National Academy of Science's research and links to studies of infants at orphanages who are fed and clothed, but not held, talked to or played with have found that some neglected children, literally, fail to grow. 

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Organisation Contact Details:

Better Care Network
c/o UNICEF
3 UN Plaza, 739-2
New York, NY 10017
Tel: +1 212 326 7650
Email: contact@bettercarenetwork.org

Last updated 29/09/2013 19:17:47

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.