ABSTRACT
This chapter examines various forms of neglect and psychological maltreatment in relation to the following areas: definitions and subtypes; rates of reporting and estimated incidence in America; causal typologies and major risk factors; strategies for prevention; promising treatment approaches and current policy, practice, and research issues. Limited research has been conducted to identify the characteristics of families in which psychological maltreatment is present and, more importantly, how those characteristics interact as part of a causal chain of events. It draws statistics from the NIS-3 study. In attempting to define various types of maltreatment it is easy to how they overlap and interact with one another, particularly regarding psychological maltreatment. Psychological maltreatment of children is a serious and widespread social problem in America. Psychological maltreatment is an attack on the ability of children to fulfill their emotional and psychological needs.
