Child Abuse : Learn from Michael Jackson’s Story

There is something we can learn from Michael Jackson's story. What happened to Michael Jackson was a tragedy; he was an appropriate example of a victim of child abuse that was done by his own father, Joseph Walter “Joe” Jackson.

Michael Jackson’s childhood abuse was very terrible. For the first time, Michael talked openly about his childhood abuse in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said that during his childhood he often cried from loneliness and would sometimes start to vomit upon seeing his father. In other high profile interview, Living with Michael Jackson (2003), Michael covered his face with his hand and began crying when talking about his childhood abuse.

Michael stated that he was physically and emotionally abused by his father from a young age, enduring incessant rehearsals, whippings and name-calling. However, he also credited his father's strict discipline as playing a large part in his success. In one altercation—later recalled by Marlon Jackson (Michael’s brother)—the father held Michael upside down by one leg and "pummeled him over and over again with his hand, hitting him on his back and buttocks".

Child abuse is the physical and/or psychological/emotional mistreatment of children. An abuser could be a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.

Children with a history of a physical abuse are at risk of developing psychiatric problems, or a disorganized attachment style which is associated with a number of developmental problems, including dissociative symptoms, as well as anxiety, depressive, and acting-out symptoms.

It is claimed that victims of childhood abuse also suffer from different types of physical health problems later in life. Some reportedly suffer from some type of chronic head, abdominal, pelvic, or muscular pain with no identifiable reason.

The effects of child abuse vary, depending on its type. A 2006 study found that childhood emotional and sexual abuse were strongly related to adult depressive symptoms. Exposure to verbal abuse and witnessing of domestic violence had a moderately strong relation, and physical abuse had a moderate one. For depression, experiencing more than two kinds of abuse exerted synergetic stronger symptoms.

Having physical and emotional abuse, Michael Jackson truly suffered those symptoms, didn’t he? It explains the reason why Michael had the ‘eccentric’ behaviors, ‘controversial’ life style, loneliness depression, and health problems.

New research illustrates that there are strong associations between exposure to child abuse in all its forms and higher rates of many chronic conditions. The strongest evidence comes from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE's) series of studies which show correlations between exposure to abuse or neglect and higher rates in adulthood of chronic conditions, high risk health behaviors and shortened live span.

Child abuse extremely destructs the victim. Having learned from Michael Jackson's story; a deviant parenting style like abusing your own child will lead to the ruin of your child’s life in the future; whatever talented or clever your child is. As parents or parents to be, let’s say together “Stop the Child Abuse!”