Final answer:
Child neglect is characterized by a failure to provide necessary care and supervision, where a parent or caregiver does not deliver the fundamental aspects of care required for a child's welfare, as opposed to intentional physical, emotional, or psychological abuse. Option c is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
When comparing abuse and neglect, child neglect is described by the factor failure to provide necessary care and supervision.
Child neglect occurs when a parent or caregiver does not give a child the care, supervision, and services necessary to ensure the child's well-being, such as adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or protection. This lack of care can result in significant harm to the child's health or welfare.
According to statistics, neglect is the most common form of child abuse, with a significant percentage of children being victimized due to neglect.
Neglect can range from a caregiver's passive disregard for a child's health and safety to a willful failure to provide basic needs.
Factors such as poverty, cultural values, and the standard of care in a community can sometimes unintentionally result in neglect, but these are not justified excuses for failing to meet a child's basic needs.
It's important to recognize this distinction as different from physical abuse, which includes intentional physical harm inflicted on a child, or emotional and psychological abuse, which involves non-physical interactions that can have damaging effects on a child's emotional well-being.