Emotional abuse often coexists with other forms of abuse, and it is the most difficult to identify. Many of its potential consequences, such as learning and speech problems and delays in physical development, can also occur in children who are not being emotionally abused.
Abusive head trauma (AHT), also known as the shaken baby syndrome, is a form of child physical abuse with the highest mortality rate (greater than 20%).
The abuser picks up on the victim's sensitivities and will specifically target them with subtle manipulations and attempt to confuse them, talking in circles and instilling doubt,” the website stated. Emotional abuse's subtlety is one of the many reasons why it is so difficult to recognize.
Physical or sexual abuse may be easier to identify, as they often have physical evidence and a clear incident to reference. Emotional abuse is more often characterized by a pattern or collection of behaviors over time that can be difficult to recognize.
Emotional abuse has an important impact on a developing child's mental health, behaviour and self-esteem. It can be especially damaging in infancy. Underlying emotional abuse may be as important, if not more so, than other more visible forms of abuse in terms of its impact on the child.
Physical injuries and severe neglect are more readily detectable than the subtle, less visible injuries which result from emotional and sexual abuse and bullying.
Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse are some of the most known types of abuse: Physical abuse is when someone hurts another person's body.
Why is emotional abuse the most difficult to deal with? Any form of abuse that inflicts pain, suffering, deprives one of his or her trust in people, can be hard to deal with and heal from. However, emotional abuse is the one kind that can slowly and steadily empty one's soul and make them feel stranded.
Because of its subtleties, emotional abuse can be quite difficult to detect when it is being experienced. Emotional abuse is also a foundation for other forms of abuse. Often, it is used erode a person's self-esteem and self-worth and create a psychological dependency on the abusive partner.
It's not always easy to spot signs of emotional abuse. You can learn to recognize abusive behaviors in others. But if you're experiencing abuse, you may notice your own behavior changes, too.
Studies show emotional abuse may be the most damaging form of maltreatment causing adverse developmental consequences equivalent to, or more severe than, those of other forms of abuse (Hart et al. 1996).
Emotional abuse involves nonphysical behavior that belittles another person and can include insults, put down, verbal threats or other tactics that make the victim feel threatened, inferior, ashamed or degraded.
The experience of put downs, criticisms or whatever form emotional abuse takes, not only wears down self-esteem but also impacts the nervous system. Memories of the abuse can elicit negative feelings, tense physical sensations along with negative thoughts about yourself long after the abuse has occurred.
Further research shows that when taking issues of severity into consideration, fathers or father surrogates are responsible for more severe physical abuse and fatalities than female perpetrators (US Department of Health and Human Services [US DHHS], 2005).
The term “Extreme Abuse” is used to describe extreme forms of deliberate physical, emotional, sexual and psychological harm against an individual. Examples include: Severe physical, sexual and/or psychological abuse. Human trafficking/slavery. Ritual abuse.
One in 9 girls and 1 in 20 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault. 82% of all victims under 18 are female. Females ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.
Emotional abuse may be unintentional, where the person doesn't realize they are hurting someone else, according to Engel. And, “some people are reenacting patterns of being in a relationship that they learn from their parents or their caregivers,” adds Heidi Kar, Ph.
Emotional abuse can lead to C-PTSD, a type of PTSD that involves ongoing trauma. C-PTSD shows many of the same symptoms as PTSD, although its symptoms and causes can differ. Treatment should be tailored to the situation to address the ongoing trauma the person experienced from emotional abuse.
In fact, according to one study, severe emotional abuse can be as damaging as physical abuse and contribute to depression and low self-esteem. The study also suggested that emotional abuse may contribute to the development of chronic conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
It tends to get worse over time, can turn physical at any moment – even years into the relationship – and, when coupled with progressively more controlling-isolating-coercive-threatening behavior, it can become a lethality risk.
And, by a wide margin, emotional abuse was less likely to be reported than either physical or sexual abuse.
They May Be Sexually Aroused by Abusive Behavior
Sexual arousal is a normal human experience and is often a normal response to sexual contact. In some cases, if early sexual experiences involved abuse, survivors may become sexually aroused by abusive behavior.
Abuse mainly occurs within the close social environment
In all of these cases, it is especially difficult for children and adolescents to get help if the perpetrator is held in high esteem by the parents or is a person who is respected by the family.