Emotional abuse

Author: Martin C Calder, Calder Training and Consultancy BIOG

Last Updated: 30 July 2010

Publication Date: 01 August 2008

Quick links:
Essential building blocks
What is emotional abuse?
Differentiating between emotional abuse and psychological maltreatment
Differentiating between emotional abuse and neglect
What are the sources of emotionally abusive behaviour?
The scope of the problem
The effects on children and young people
Resilience

Essential building blocks
A child who experiences a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with its mother, father or other primary caregivers. Conversely, an unresponsive parent, or one who responds inappropriately to a child's needs, increases the likelihood of the child becoming anxious and insecure in its attachment (Tucci and Tomison, 2003). Overall, the significant relationship between problematic attachment and the downward spiral of the parent-child relationship is quite central to making judgements about the quality if emotional care and it is difficult to know where else within the safeguarding system to locate serious concerns about children who have experienced such adversity in their early life.