ABSTRACT
Psychological, or emotional, maltreatment includes both psychological neglect and psychological abuse. In cases of psychological neglect, the parents fail to meet the emotional needs of their children. Parents who ignore their children or who fail to make emotional contact with their children may be guilty of psychological neglect. In psychological abuse, the parents are engaging in behaviors that actively harm a child’s mental health. For instance, a parent who yells at a child, calling the child stupid, lazy, and no good, or a parent who threatens the life of a child may be considered psychologically abusive. What is diffi cult about this type of maltreatment is evident in my use of the phrase “ may be considered.” There is probably no such thing as a parent who never ignores the emotional needs of a child. There are times when even the best caregiver is distracted, tired, or too angry to provide the perfect emotional response to a child. We do not, however, say that all parents are psychologically neglectful. Likewise, nearly all parents occasionally speak more harshly to a child than is ideal, and we do not label them psychologically abusive. Contrast this with physical abuse. If a parent intentionally burns a child once, he or she is guilty of physical abuse, but how many times does a parent have to say something negative to a child before he or she is guilty of psychological abuse? Does it matter if the parent is saying something that happens to be true? In other words, if you call your lazy child “lazy,” is that abusive? To complicate things further, tone of voice and intent may be as important as what is said. Have your parents ever threatened your physical well-being, or even your life? Before you say, “Not mine!” see if any of the following statements sound at all familiar:
Stop crying or I will give you something to cry about. I brought you into this world, and I darn well can take you out of it. If you want to live to see your next birthday . . .
