In Michigan, 46 percent of child abuse victims in 2013 suffered from emotional abuse, according to the 2013 report on child abuse and neglect data collected by the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. In neighboring Illinois, however, emotional abuse accounted for less than 1 percent.

How can two states generate such different rates of substantiated emotional abuse?

“Different states have different definitions for emotional abuse,” said Diana English, a Research Scientist at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work and a Senior Director at Casey Family Programs. “There is no consistent approach regarding how to ask for information and how information is used.”

Researchers believe the disparity in rates can be attributed to a difference in how emotional abuse is defined and measured instead of a difference in actual incidence rates. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) broadly defines abuse as: “Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or, any act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.”

Each state interprets the federal definition independently in order to provide its own definitions of the specific types of maltreatment, including emotional abuse.

Emotional abuse has gained visibility in recent years within academic and policy spheres as a result of new research suggesting that emotional abuse can leave long lasting scars comparable to physical abuse, as well as a number of high profile cases of abuse and neglect in the media. This has placed increasing pressure on regulators to develop policy responses to address the issue.

Within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Children’s Bureau advises the Administration for Children and Families on matters of child welfare. Over the years, the Children’s Bureau has received many calls for more consistent definitions across states and jurisdictions, and more recently, there has been a clearer recognition of mental and emotional health.

For more on this article by Sarah Oon see this link: https://chronicleofsocialchang...ed-and-measured/9970