Child abuse no doubt hampers the victim's personality growth and development, as backed out by various publications, studies and research. During these formative years, we are delicate and breakable. Our environment and our relationships either make or break us. The aggressive, apathetic or withdrawn behavior can be traced to feelings that they hardly anyone can be trusted, or that they are inferior to others. All these are residual effects that linger on even long after they were abused or maltreated in the past (Oates, 1984).

But it is also important to note that while most child abuse victims succumb to maladaptive personality development patterns, there are also a remarkable few who manage turn their lives around and take the 'other path,' as Erikson would have put it. In a study on the personality development of victims of child abuse by Oates (1984), it was noted that because they were often...
[ View Full Essay]