Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate or valued only in so far as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. It may involve causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, for example by witnessing domestic abuse within the home or being bullied, or, the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill treatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

For signs and symptoms of emotional abuse, please visit the NSPCC website.

NSPCC Core Information - Website and Leaflets

The NSPCC have a free resource for professionals working with children and young people. The NSPCC working in collaboration with the Cochrane Institute of Primary Care and Public Health (situated in the School of Medicine at Cardiff University) have undertaken a series of systematic literature reviews on a serious of topics such as physical abuse and neglect. These reviews bring together the best evidence available on a given topic, providing an evidence base for professional decision making.

The findings from these reviews have been concisely summarised in a series of leaflets. These leaflets provide key information for professionals to help inform their assessments and decision making. Please see link below:

• Emotional neglect and emotional abuse in pre-school children