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module menu icon Emotional or psychological abuse

Emotional or psychological abuse involves the child being exposed to persistent emotional maltreatment. This form of abuse has a severe adverse effect on the emotional development of the child.

Emotional abuse can involve:

  • Making the child feel worthless or unloved.
  • Making the child feel inadequate or valued only where they meet the needs of another person.
  • Humiliating the child.
  • Threatening abandonment and/or deprivation of contact.
  • Having expectations that are inappropriate for the age of the child.
  • Having interactions with the child that is beyond their developmental capability. This would be evident in a young child being expected to behave like a much older child.
  • Allowing the child to see or hear ill treatment or serious bullying of another person.
  • Causing or allowing the child to feel frequently frightened or in danger.
  • Being overly protective can also be considered a form of emotional abuse as it prevents the child from exploration and consequent development.

 

Children may demonstrate both physical and behavioural signs of emotional abuse including:

  • Sleep disturbance.
  • Speech disorders.
  • Bed wetting (of new onset).
  • Fear.
  • Confusion.
  • Extreme shyness and passivity.
  • Low self-esteem.
  • Compulsive behaviour.
  • Unexplained depression, anxiety or fearfulness.
  • Marked change in the child’s behaviour or emotional state that cannot be explained by a stressful event which could involve acting out abuse that they have witnessed or experienced.
  • Running away from home or unexplained absence from school.