The differences in these cultural beliefs demonstrate the importance of examining all cross-cultural perspectives when studying the concept of child abuse. Some professionals argue that cultural norms that sanction physical punishment are one of the causes of child abuse, and have undertaken campaigns to redefine such norms.As of 2006, between 25,000 and 50,000 children in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, had been accused of witchcraft and abandoned. In Malawi it is common practice to accuse children of witchcraft and many children have been abandoned, abused and even killed as a result. In the Nigerian, Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State about 15,000 children were branded as witches.In April 2015, public broadcasting reported that the rate of child abuse in South Korea had increased to 13% compared with the previous year, and 75% of attackers were the childrens own parents. Possible link to animal abuse
There are studies providing evidence of a link between child abuse and cruelty to animals. A large national survey by the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies found a "substantial overlap between companion animal abuse and child abuse" and that cruelty to animals "most frequently co-occurred with psychological abuse and less severe forms of physical child abuse," which "resonates with conceptualizations of domestic abuse as an ongoing pattern of psychological abuse and coercive control." Disclosure and assessment
Suspicion for physical abuse is recommended when injuries occur in a child who is not yet able to walk independently.
Delsym is an American brand of cough medicine owned by Reckitt, and manufactured at Unither Manufacturing in Rochester, NY. It is different from most brands of cough medicine in that the active ingredient is "time released". The time release feature allows the drug to suppress the cough reflex for a longer period of time. The active ingredient per teaspoon (5 mL) is dextromethorphan polistirex, equivalent to dextromethorphan HBr 30 mg. Method of action
The active ingredient, dextromethorphan (metabolized to dextrorphan), is surrounded by an edible plastic called polistirex. When the Delsym arrives in the stomach, an initial amount of dextromethorphan is immediately released into the bloodstream while the rest is surrounded by a plastic that is slowly dissolved by stomach acid. After the polistirex is dissolved sufficiently, more dextromethorphan is released. Recreational use
Intentionally consuming more than the recommended dosage of Delsym may result in euphoria, lack of coordination, hallucinations, apathy, feelings of dissociation, and disorientation. This is due to dextromethorphan as well as its pharmacologically-active metabolite dextrorphan, both dissociative drugs that work as NMDA receptor antagonists the same way nitrous oxide (N2O), ketamine, and phencyclidine (PCP) do. Because of the abuse potential, many pharmacies and large retail chains have begun taking precautions such as restricting sales to those under age 18 and limiting the number of sales of dextromethorphan-containing products per customer. References
External links
Official website