The ‘Unseen Wounds’ of Child Emotional Abuse [psmag.com]

As recent reports regarding actor Stephen Collins remind us, accusations of child sexual abuse reliably produce a reaction of intense horror. But a new study suggests that, if we are to seriously address the mistreatment of children and the long-term damage it creates, we need to broaden our focus.

In an article entitled "Unseen Wounds," a team of researchers argues that childhood emotional abuse—a problem far more widespread than sexual molestation—is linked to just as much suffering and problematic behavior as the victims grow into adolescents.

In a large sample, “psychologically mistreated youth exhibited equivalent or greater baseline levels of behavioral problems, symptoms, and disorders compared with physically or sexually abused youth on most indicators,” writes the researchers, led by Joseph Spinazzola of the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute in Brookline, Massachusetts.

http://www.psmag.com/health-an...ological-abuse-92091

PDF from the Trauma Center: http://www.traumacenter.org/pr...een_Wounds_S0004.pdf