Child abuse, verbal


Also known as emotional child abuse, this is the third most frequently reported form of child abuse (after child neglect and physical child abuse), accounting 17% of all cases of child abuse.

It is likely that emotional child abuse is greatly underreported, since it can be difficult to detect and difficult to document.

Emotional child abuse includes acts of commission or omission by the parents and other caregivers that could cause the child to have serious behavioral, emotional, or mental disorders. In some instances of emotional child abuse, the acts of parents or other caregivers alone, without any harm yet evident in the child’s behavior or condition, are sufficient to warrant the intervention of child protective services. For example, the parents or caregivers may use extreme or bizarre forms of punishment, such as confinement of a child in a dark closet.

Emotional child abuse is also sometimes termed psychological child abuse or mental injury of a child.

Read Also:

  • Child development test

    Child development test: A test of the status of a newborn, an infant or young child as regards their developmental progress. One of the first tests was devised by the pioneering pediatrician and child psychologist Arnold L. Gesell (1880-1961). Gesell founded the Clinic of Child Development at Yale in 1911 and directed it for many […]

  • Child health

    Child health: The care and treatment of children. Child health is the purview of pediatrics, which became a medical specialty in the mid-nineteenth century. Before that time the care and treatment of childhood diseases were included within such areas as general medicine, obstetrics, and midwifery.

  • Child Health and . . . (NICHD)

    Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of (NICHD): One of the US National Institutes of Health, NICHD is in a sense the NIH for kids in that it is concerned with child health. The mission of the NICHD is, in formal terms, to support and conduct “research on fertility, pregnancy, growth, development, and medical […]

  • Child injury, mental

    Child injury, mental: Also known as emotional child abuse, this is the third most frequently reported form of child abuse (after child neglect and physical child abuse), accounting 17% of all cases of child abuse. It is likely that emotional child abuse is greatly underreported, since it can be difficult to detect and difficult to […]

  • Child neglect

    Child neglect: Child neglect is the most frequently reported form of child abuse (60% of all cases) and the most lethal. Child neglect is the failure to provide for the shelter, safety, supervision and nutritional needs of the child. Child neglect may be physical, educational, or emotional neglect: Physical neglect includes refusal of or delay […]


Disclaimer: Child abuse, verbal definition / meaning should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. All content on this website is for informational purposes only.