Abstract:

Child abuse and neglect is one of the most challenging areas of child welfare. It is quite natural that professionals such as social pediatricians, psychiatrists, forensic science experts, social workers, psychologists, and nurses that engage in multidisciplinary processes to make multi-dimensional assessments and to conduct appropriate practices on children who are exposed to neglect and abuse are affected in various ways. This study aimed to examine the challenges that the professionals working with children who are exposed to neglect and abuse experience on various aspects of their lives and their coping strategies. The qualitative research methods were used, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine professionals (one social pediatricians, two social workers, three nurses, and three forensic science experts) working in two different provinces in Turkey. Six of the interviewees are female and three are male. The professionals’ experiences are analyzed under two themes: ‘the reflections on the emotions and the opinions’, and ‘the behaviors and the coping strategies’. The issues of the anger towards the abuser, the passive parenting, the concern for abuse and insecurity, the control and protection, the reflections regarding communication with the child, anger and intimacy in social life are examined as sub-themes under the themes of the reflections on the emotions and the opinions’. Additionally, other sub-themes of sharing with somebody and professional support, sparing time to clear the mind and social activities, supportive aspect of team work, job satisfaction and feedbacks are analyzed under the the theme of coping strategies.

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