Child abuse is a huge issue and is one that is very challenging to deal with, for both outside parties, the victim and the families alike. What is even more difficult is identifying psychological or emotional abuse, which very well is the most common kind of child abuse.

As written in the journal Pediatrics this week, three pediatricians wanted to spread the message to stay alert to the signs of psychological maltreat. Psychological abuse can be every bit harmful as physical bullying, but it’s harder to pin down and identify, especially because it’s not defined by any one specific event by rather by the nature of the interaction or relationship.

One example of abuse is keeping a child in a constant state of fear, which the child might not even vocalize or show signs of in the first place.

In the paper, the co-authors stated that only 8-9% of women and only 4% of men ever reported severe psychological abuse in childhood when the question was posed in surveys in the United States and Britain.

Pediatricians must be sensitive to signs of emotional maltreatment, according to the authors.

I think it’s an area that needs to be focused more on in hopes to help less children go through unnecessary emotional abuse.

What do you think? Do you think you were a victim of psychological abuse at times as a child?