SOC-220.R - Vulnerable Populations Worksheet PDF

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Vulnerable Populations Worksheet...

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1 Tawana Patron SOC-220 June 14th, 2020 Anthony Brown Children: A Vulnerable Population Vulnerable populations are those who are disadvantaged due to economic, race, ethnic, physical, mental, or medical reasons (AJMC, 2016). This includes those who cannot defend, care, or provide adequately for themselves and/or their family. In the case of children, who can not adequately survive without assistance, they are considered a vulnerable population. Social problems that arise for children include exposure to abuse and/or trauma and limited resources for mental health support. According to Snodgrass and Selman (2019), one in six children possess serious risks that requires assistance but are limited to accessing it because of long waiting lists for services. The social problems of exposure to abuse and trauma, combined with the social problem of limited access and resources for mental health, help in continuing and expanding the cycle of abuse onto further generations and societies. At a micro level, those who experience, or witness, abuse and trauma will suffer with psychological and behavioral issues in the future. According to Lorenc, Lester, Sutcliffe, Stansfield, and Thomas (2020), individuals exposed to abuse will have modified social norms and view the abuse as normal. The experience and exposure will change the perspective of an individual and desensitize them leading to minimization of the severity of the problem. At a macro level, this desensitization combined with the limitation of mental assistance will increase the vulnerable population. Adverse family environments increase the development of maladaptive personality and aggressive behaviors (Calhoun, Ridenour, &

2 Fishbein, 2019). The experience and exposure will spread across sub-cultures and societies, infecting those exposed with desensitization and modified social norms. Limited, or no, access to mental health assistance for families and children will aide in the normalization and spread of these social problems. If a population is raised with abuse and no assistance, then all they will know is abuse and no assistance. A solution for these problems would be to provide awareness, parent training, and mental health resources for families. How to identify, prevent, stop, and replace abusive behaviors should be taught to families in a way that is accessible to all. In the past, organizations have been created to protect children from abuse and for mental help for families, but a lot of these services have long waiting lists or are inaccessible to families due to limitations on awareness of the organizations, travel to the facilities, childcare, and financial strains. A solution to the limitations is that these services be advertised to spread awareness and provided through flexible online or over the phone sessions, similar to the route many health care organizations have been providing services during the Coronavirus outbreak. Awareness and accessible mental health assistance will decrease the instances of abuse and increase awareness of abuse and its topography and effects.

References

3 AJMC (2016). Vulnerable Populations: Who Are They? Retrieved from https://www.ajmc.com/journals/supplement/2006/2006-11-vol12-n13suppl/nov062390ps348-s352#:~:text=Vulnerable%20populations%20include%20the %20economically,conditions%2C%20including%20severe%20mental%20illness. Calhoun, B. H., Ridenour, T. A., & Fishbein, D. H. (2019). Associations between Child Maltreatment, Harsh Parenting, and Sleep with Adolescent Mental Health. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 28(1), 116–130. https://doiorg.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1261-7 Lorenc, T., Lester, S., Sutcliffe, K., Stansfield, C., & Thomas, J. (2020). Interventions to support people exposed to adverse childhood experiences: systematic review of systematic reviews. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1–10. https://doiorg.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08789-0 Snodgrass, C., & Selman, M. (2019). The psychologically-informed partnership approach: Innovation in working with vulnerable and marginalised children, young people and families. Clinical Psychology Forum, 321, 12–18....