A new study shows the importance of treating childhood verbal abuse as maltreatment.
Right now, child maltreatment is usually divided into physical, sexual, emotional abuse, and also neglect.
These categories help in designing interventions and keeping an eye on affected groups.
This experiment examined different studies to understand how childhood verbal abuse is currently defined and measured.
It was observed that there's an actual need for a more specific and consistent definition of childhood verbal abuse since it varies between families and other figures of authority, sometimes even seen as a form of discipline.
This type of verbal abuse includes actions that can affect a child's well-being, like belittling, shouting, and using threatening language.
These cruel words can have long-lasting effects on a child's emotional and psychological health, increasing the risk of issues like anger, depression, substance abuse, self-harm, and even obesity.
Acknowledging it as such would be a crucial step in preventing it.
More research is expected to understand the long-term effects of this behavior on different age groups.
The goal is to break the cycle of verbal abuse and protect children's well-being.
Specialists emphasized the importance of recognizing and addressing childhood verbal abuse, stating that words have a significant impact on kids, and we should work together to prevent verbal abuse and support children's growth.