Emotional / Psychological Maltreatment

lecture 5 and chapter 6

Emotional/Psychological Maltreatment

These are acts of omission or commission that result in the absence of a nurturing environment for a child. It is often more ambiguous than other forms of abuse. The DSM-5 formally added Child Psychological Abuse as a diagnostic code in 2013!

Emotional Neglect

The failure to meet a child's emotional needs. This includes inadequate nurturing and affection, refusal to provide care, or knowingly allowing maladaptive behaviours such as drug abuse or delinquency

Emotional Abuse

Engaging in non-physical acts that directly harm a child's mental health. Examples include verbal assaults, insults, threats of harm, confinement, and exposing a child to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Psychological Pain

Unlike physical pain, which the human mind is often incapable of reliving, memories of psychological pain are remembered and may become magnified over time

The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC)

Defines psychological maltreatment as a repeated pattern or extreme incident that conveys to a child that they are worthless, flawed, or only of value to meet another’s needs.

• Subtypes: Spurning, terrorizing, isolating, exploiting/corrupting, denying emotional responsiveness, & mental health, medical, and educational neglect

Spurning

Hostile and rejecting behaviors, including belittling, shaming, ridiculing, or publicly humiliating the child.

Terrorizing

Threatening a child or their loved ones/possessions with violence or abandonment, or placing them in dangerous situations.

Isolating

Restricting the child's contact with others inside or outside the family, such as confining them in a room or closet or preventing them from having normal opportunities to socialize.

Exploiting/Corrupting

Encouraging or teaching inappropriate behaviors, such as criminal acts, parentification, or restricting cognitive development.

Denying Emotional Responsiveness

Ignoring the child, withholding physical and verbal affection, or using the "silent treatment."

Mental Health, Medical, and Educational Neglect

The failure to meet the child's needs in these specific developmental areas. Counts as emotional maltreatment too.

Alienating the Other Parent (not a subtype)

Actively working to damage the child's relationship with the other parent and weaponizing them against the parent

Parental Risk Factors

• History of Maltreatment: Having been a victim of child abuse themselves.

• Living with IPV, going through separation/divorce, or being part of a blended family.

• History of substance abuse, mental health issues, or poverty.

• Genetics: E/PM is unique because parents' genes may influence this form of maltreatment,

Physical Signs of Emotional Maltreatment

Headaches or stomach aches with no medical cause, and failure to gain weight (especially in infants).

Behavioural Signs of Emotional Maltreatment

Being either overly compliant/eager to please or highly argumentative with consistent temper tantrums, regressive behaviours and or habit disorders (e.g., toileting problems, thumb sucking)

Habit and Speech Disorders: Stuttering, stammering, or repetitive behaviours like rocking and head-banging

Psychological Signs of Emotional Maltreatment

A sudden or gradual decline in self-confidence, self-deprecating comments, and being overly critical of oneself. Being easily frustrated, abnormal fears, increased nightmares, prolonged unhappiness, stress, withdrawal, aggression, and anger

Maslow’s Theory

Human needs are a pyramid; children cannot reach self-actualization (full potential) if basic safety and psychological needs (belonging, love, esteem) are not met.

Erikson’s Theory

Development involves resolving social "crises" (e.g., trust versus mistrust); maltreatment derails a child's ability to navigate these conflicts safely

Attachment Theory

Between 6 and 12 months, infants must form a secure tie to a caregiver to use as a base for exploration; this relationship serves as a model for all future relationships.

Minnesota Mother/Child Interaction Project

This longitudinal study that looked over high-risk mothers found that victims of hostile verbal abuse or denied responsiveness suffered consequences as severe as—or worse than—victims of physical abuse.

Rene Spitz's (1956) Study

Demonstrated that infants who received regular medical care but lacked loving attention in foundling homes (orphanages) had a 37.5% mortality rate and significant developmental delays than children in penal nurseries, where their mother could care for them.

Long-Term Effects

Considered the strongest predictor of later long-term psychological dysfunction in adults. Consequences include:

• Depression, suicidal ideation, PTSD, personality disorders (e.g., Borderline Personality Disorder), learning problems, ADHD and dissociation.

• Hypertension, asthma, increased somatic complaints, and increased mortality risk.

• Reductions in brain volume and impaired development/functioning of the amygdala.

Co-occurrence

E/P maltreatment rarely happens in isolation; what’s unique about it is that it overlaps with every other form of maltreatment, commonly PA.

In clinical samples, if physical abuse is present, psychological maltreatment is also present 91% of the time, although if E/PM is present, then physical abuse is there 45% of the time.

CIS (Canadian Incidents Study) in 2008

• 7% investigations’ primary concerns were emotional maltreatment, 48% were substantiated

• Verbal abuse or belittling and exposure to non-partner physical violence accounted for the largest proportions of substantiated emotional maltreatment

• Substantiated cases often involve multiple incidents rather than single incidents

FN/CIS in 2019

• Emotional harm was noted in 35% of substantiated cases, and more than half of these cases are considered severe enough to be investigated

• First Nations children: Emotional maltreatment primary concern in 9.4% of substantiated cases

• Emotional maltreatment primary concern in 14% of substantiated cases (non-indigenous)

Health Report in 2024 (self-reports)

• Interpersonal aggression (45.7%) and emotional abuse (40.4%) were the most common types of non-physical maltreatment experienced in childhood

• Emotional neglect (20%), exposure to IPV (12.3%), and physical neglect (12.3%)

• Non-physical childhood maltreatment was associated with an increased likelihood of suicidal ideation + anxiety disorders

Parental Intention

Psychologists generally agree that intention does not matter; maltreatment occurs whether the parent meant to harm the child, acted out of ignorance, or was simply trying to be a "good" but frustrated parent

Glaser’s Definition

Proposed a framework based on the child's needs, identifying five subtypes:

1. Emotional unavailability, unresponsiveness, and neglect

2. Negative attributions and misattributions to the child

3. Developmentally inappropriate or inconsistent interactions. Having unrealistic expectations

4. Failure to recognize or acknowledge the child’s individuality and psychological boundaries:

5. Failing to promote the child’s social adaptation

Incidence (other stats)

• National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS): In 2018, only 2.3% of maltreatment reports were for psychological maltreatment alone, though rates vary 300-fold between states due to inconsistent definitions.

• National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) Data: Retrospective studies found one-third of adults reported being victims of emotional abuse during childhood.

Defining a Line on a Continuum

Experts distinguish between healthy parenting (appropriate rules), dysfunctional parenting (unclear or inconsistent rules), and maltreatment (arbitrary or exploitative rules)

Areas of Agreement

Research shows high consensus (80%+) among parents and professionals that behaviours like rejection, shaming, and threatening are never acceptable. Nine out of ten vignettes (e.g., "Cinderella syndrome," confining a child) were rated as abusive by both social workers and citizens

Measuring Psychological Maltreatment

Tools include self-report questionnaires, interviews, and observations, though no "gold standard" for validity exists. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is one of the most well-respected measures

Dissociation

The separation of mental processes from conscious awareness as a trauma response

Depersonalization

Feeling detached from oneself; childhood emotional maltreatment is a significant predictor of this in young adults

Anhedonia

The inability to experience pleasure, specifically linked to emotional neglect

Mentalizing

The ability to understand one's own and others' mental states; high capacity in this area can prevent depression following abuse

Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Victims of emotional abuse may have reduced volume in this brain region, which is critical for emotional regulation

Nonsuicidal Self-Injurious (NSSI)

Deliberate acts that damage the body and that are not socially sanctioned, nor intended to bring about death (i.e. cutting, hair pulling, hitting, or ingesting toxins). Used as a form of self-punishment after internalizing negative parental messages

Negative Urgency

A form of impulsivity where individuals engage in rash behavior specifically when under stress

Resiliency or Greater Harm

The presence of a trusted adult (other than their abusive parent) promotes resilience, while co-occurring domestic violence significantly worsens behavioural outcomes

Assessment Tools

• Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS): A scale used to measure both psychological and physical maltreatment as well as nonviolent discipline patterns.

• Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL): A 118-item report used by parents to measure a child's social competencies and behavioral problems