Emotional Abuse Effects

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Emotional abuse effects are directly connected to the relationship between the victim and abuser. The closer the relationship, the more devastating the effects on the child or youth. As the intensity, frequency and duration of abuse increases, so does the effect on the psyche of that child or youth.

Emotional child abuse is by definition "constant negative messages", but even a single message of rejection can have long-lasting negative effects on the child or youth.

The effects of severe emotional abuse, however, may be more physiological than previously thought:

FACT: Studies on abandoned and severely maltreated Romanian children revealed striking lesions in certain areas of the brain. The repeated traumatization led to an increased release of stress hormones, which attacked the sensitive tissue of the brain and destroyed newly-formed neurons. The areas of their brains responsible for the "management" of their emotions were 20% to 30% smaller than in other children of the same age. It would be logical to conclude that this damage can result in any child (not only Romanian) who suffers such abandonment and maltreatment (Dr. Alice Miller, Childhood Trauma, presented as a lecture to the YWHA, New York City, 1998¹).

Physical Effects

»  speech problems
»  lags in physical development
»  failure to thrive (especially in infants)
»  facial tics
»  eating disorders
»  substance abuse (drugrehabhelp.org/ provides information and resources for drug and alcohol rehabilitation.)
»  self-harm - burning, cutting
»  attempts at or completed suicide

Behavioural Effects

»  low self-worth
»  irritability
»  overly reactive
»  sleep disorders
»  inability to trust others
»  depression
»  inappropriate behaviour for age
»  withdrawal
»  profound sadness
»  habit disorders - sucking, biting, rocking
»  aggression
»  stealing
»  lying
»  self-harm
»  prostitution
»  engaging in risky behaviours
»  attempts at or completed suicide

Emotional Effects

»  inability to control emotions
»  questioning of religious beliefs

More child abuse effects pages on this site:

If you suffer from emotional abuse effects, a very good personal growth site to check out is www.about-personal-growth.com

Emotional Child Abuse pages on this site:

Child abuse information pages on this site:

References

Emotional Abuse Effects

NOTE: Information pages on this site were based on material from the Canadian Red Cross RespectED Training Program. Written permission was obtained to use their copyrighted material on this site.

1 Miller, A. (1998). Childhood trauma. Lecture to the YWHA, New York City.

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