ABSTRACT
Although neglect and emotional abuse of children are common, these are conditions that usually cause no physical signs and are subtler in their manifestations than physical abuse or sexual abuse. For these reasons, such abuse tends to come to the attention of professionals less often and, in the case of emotional abuse, recognition of its extent and seriousness has been slow. Emotional abuse can be regarded as an underlying characteristic of all forms of child abuse. Children who are physically injured by their parents or caretakers and children who are sexually misused for the emotional gratification of an adult are also emotionally abused as a result of these acts. The adult who sexually misuses a child is giving that child a message that her value to the adult is not as a person, but as something the adult can use for his own satisfaction.
