Emotional and psychological abuse of Children
...s presence. Many times the parent is physically there but emotionally unavailable. Terrorizing – Parents may single out one child to criticize and punish. They may ridicule him or her for displaying normal emotions and have expectations far beyond his or her normal abilities. The child may be threatened with death, mutilation or abandonment. Isolating – A parent who abuses a child through isolation may not allow the child to engage in appropriate activities with his or her peers. For example, the parents may keep a baby in his or her room, not exposed to stimulation or they may prevent teenagers from participating in extracurricular activities. Parents may require the child to stay in his or her room, or restrict eating to isolation or seclusion. Corrupting - Parents permit children to use drugs or alcohol; to watch cruel behavior toward animals or to watch pornographic materials and adult sex acts. Parents may also permit children to witness or participate in criminal activities such as stealing, assault, prostitution or gambling. Other types of abuse are usually identifiable because marks or other physical evidence are left; however, emotional abuse can be very hard to diagnose or even to define. In some instances, an emotionally abused child will show no signs of abuse. For this reason, emotional abuse is the most difficult form of child maltreatment to identify and stop. This type of abuse leaves hidden scars that manifest themselves in numerous ways. Insecurity, poor self-esteem, destructive behavior, angry acts, withdrawal, poor development of basic skills, alcohol or drug abuse, suicide and difficulty forming relationships can all be possible results of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is the only type of abuse that can stand-alone. Each of the different types of abuse however is connected with emotional abuse (Kempe 33). There are different types of neglect associated with emotional/psychological abuse, which are as follows: 1. Physical Neglect – accounts for the majority of cases of maltreatment. The definition includes the refusal of or extreme delay in seeking necessary health care, child abandonment, inadequate supervision, rejection of a child leading to expulsion from the home, and failing to adequately provide for the child’s safety and physical and emotional needs. Physical neglect can severely impact a child’s development by causing failure to thrive, malnutrition, serious illnesses, physical harm in the form of cuts, bruises and burns due to the lack of supervision and a lifetime of low self-esteem. 2. Educational Neglect – occurs when a child is allowed to engage in chronic truancy, is of mandatory school age but not enrolled in school or receiving needed special educational training. Educational neglect can lead to underachievement in acquiring necessary basic skills, dropping out of school and/or continually disruptive behavior. In Miami, Florida, a mother was arrested because her two daughters missed too much school. She is the first parent in the state arrested in a growing crackdown on truancy. The state’s attorney’s office said that Mindy Viera has two daughters, ages 15 and 13. Records show that the older girl was absent 101 times, 74 unexcused; the younger girl was absent 79 times, 63 unexcus...