[Child as a victim of abuse and negligence. Plea for a pluridisciplinary approach and for public education].
The phenomenon of child abuse and neglect is universal and involves all population groups or classes. It is more the expression of a socio-affective deficiency than of economic poverty. Cultural factors are more important in its pathogenesis than traditional alienating factors such as schizophrenia and alcoholism. The victims are pre-school children and infants. The most common lesions are multiple hematomas, sometimes associated with fractures and epiphyseal wrenching. Subdural hematomas and bursting of abdominal viscera represent acute threats to the child's life. Risk factors are now better known and alarm signals of predictive value can be identified, which allow preventive steps to be taken. These alarm signals are to be observed during pregnancy, during delivery and in the neonatal period. They emanate from the mother but also from the married couple as a functional unit. After the fact, intervention in the form of control is only effective by the fear it produces. It is not therapeutic, because denial and lack of motivation for psychotherapy are prevalent. Effective therapy can only be prophylactic; hence the importance of identifying the risk. Primary prevention in the authors' opinion, must begin with adolescents, who must be informed and educated while still at school and before they are faced with the problems leading to this interpersonal disorder.
D002649:Child Abuse; D002651:Child Advocacy; D002668:Child Rearing; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted; D011640:Public Policy; D012737:Sex Factors; D013557:Switzerland; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis
L'enfant victime de sévices ou de négligence Plaidoyer pour une approche pluridisciplinaire et pour une éducation du public.