American humane

What is emotional abuse?

Emotional abuse of a child is commonly defined as a pattern of behavior by parents or caregivers that can seriously interfere with a child’s cognitive, emotional, psychological, or social development . Emotional abuse of a child — also referred to as psychological maltreatment — can include:

* Ignoring. Either physically or psychologically, the parent or caregiver is not present to respond to the child. He or she may not look at the child, and may not call the child by name.
* Rejecting. This is an active refusal to respond to a child’s needs (e.g., refusing to touch a child, denying the needs of a child, ridiculing a child).
* Isolating. The parent or caregiver consistently prevents the child from having normal social interactions with peers, family members, and adults. This also may include confining the child or limiting the child’s freedom of movement.
* Exploiting or corrupting. In this kind of abuse, a child is taught, encouraged, or forced to develop inappropriate or illegal behaviors. It may involve self-destructive or antisocial acts of the parent or caregiver, such as teaching the child how to steal or forcing a child into prostitution.
* Verbally assaulting. This involves constantly belittling, shaming, ridiculing, or verbally threatening the child.
* Terrorizing. Here, the parent or caregiver threatens or bullies the child and creates a climate of fear for the child. Terrorizing can include placing the child or the child’s loved one (such as a sibling, pet, or toy ) in a dangerous or chaotic situation, or placing rigid or unrealistic expectations on the child with threats of harm if they are not met.
* Neglecting the child. This abuse may include educational neglect, where a parent or caregiver fails or refuses to provide the child with necessary educational services; mental health neglect, where the parent or caregiver denies or ignores a child’s need for treatment for psychological problems; or medical neglect, where a parent or caregiver denies or ignores a child’s need for treatment for medical problems.

While the definition of emotional abuse is often complex and not precise, professionals agree that, for most parents, occasional negative attitudes or actions are not considered emotional abuse. Even the best of parents have occasions when they have momentarily “lost control” and said hurtful things to their children, failed to give them the attention they wanted, or unintentionally scared them by their actions.

What is truly harmful, according to James Garbarino of the Family Life Development Center at Cornell University and a national expert on emotional abuse, is the persistent, chronic pattern that “erodes and corrodes a child.” Dr. Arthur Green, director of the Family Center at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, concurs that emotional abuse is not an isolated incident. “We’re talking about the kind of things that a good mother may do 10% of the time, but a troubled mother does 80% or 90% of the time.”