The Long-Term Impact of Emotional Abuse in Childhood

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,