Journal of Addiction & Prevention

Case Report

Child Abuse in Russia

Jargin SV*

Department of Pathology, People’s Friendship University of Russia, Russian Federation
*Address for Correspondence: Jargin SV, Department of Pathology, People’s Friendship University of Russia, Clementovski per 6-82, 115184 Moscow, Russia, Email: sjargin@mail.ru
Submission: 07 October, 2023 Accepted: 09 November, 2023 Published: 12 November, 2023
Copyright: © 2023 Jargin SV. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: Child Abuse; Obsessive-Compulsive; Autism; ADHD; Alcoholism

Abstract

Child abuse has been rarely discussed in the Russian literature. Several booklets were published in the period 1990-2016 but today the topic is largely avoided. Physical abuse may be implicated in pathogenesis of various conditions including obsessive-compulsive, autism spectrum and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. Child abuse can have long-lasting consequences also for initially typical individuals. Children regularly punished for impulsivity, hyperactivity or hysteric behavior would modify it to avoid repeated trauma or to cope with it. The adaptive or maladaptive conduct may be obsessivecompulsive and/or compatible with autism spectrum disorder: impaired communication, abnormal eye contact, stereotypies. Some repetitive behaviors seen in autism can be described as obsessive/ compulsive. Among others, binge eating and alcohol drinking may be compulsive. In conditions of collectivism and social pressure to be “normal” like everybody, individuals with communication abnormalities have motives to contact with peers to avoid stigmatization as outsiders. Binge drinking is used by some adolescents to overcome communication barriers. Besides, loitering with drinking companies is a way of escape from domestic violence. In conclusion, child abuse can modify behavior and trajectories of some conditions giving rise to atypical conduct more or less compatible with autism spectrum or obsessive-compulsive disorders, sometimes predisposing to excessive alcohol consumption.