ABSTRACT
Until recently there has been limited attention paid to the long-term consequences of childhood emotional abuse (also known as psychological abuse), in contrast to the significant attention paid to the long-term effects of childhood physical or sexual abuse (Barnett, Miller-Perrin, & Perrin, 2005; Binggeli, Hart, & Brassard, 2001). In part this has been because emotional abuse was not recognized as a distinct form of child maltreatment until quite recently, and there has been considerable difficulty defining and assessing emotional abuse. Unlike physical abuse, which results in immediate and observable harm, the immediate consequences of emotionally abusive behavior are more elusive. The actions and behaviors that comprise emotional abuse (humiliating, demeaning, threatening language or behavior, denial of affection, or isolating a child) are not uncommon occurrences in family life, and it has been difficult to determine the threshold for considering a particular act abusive. Many parents, if not most, have acknowledged criticizing, ignoring, or being unsupportive of their child on a given occasion (Barnett et al., 2005). So, in the emotional abuse area in particular, it has been hard to distinguish among less than adequate parenting, parenting mistakes, and emotionally abusive behavior. This has made it difficult for child protection workers, therapists, and other child-care providers to accurately assess if the emotional abuse involves a repeated pattern of parent-child interaction, or if the incident has been severe.
