This form of abuse may occur with or without physical abuse, but they are often grouped together. .
Some examples of emotional child abuse are: verbal abuse; excessive demands on a child's performance; excessive, aggressive, or unreasonable demands that place expectations on a child beyond his or her capacity; penalizing a child for positive, normal behavior (smiling, mobility, exploration, vocalization, manipulation of objects); discouraging caregiver and infant attachment; penalizing a child for demonstrating signs of positive self-esteem; and penalizing a child for using interpersonal skills needed for adequate performance in school and peer groups (website). In addition, regularly exposing children to family violence and unwillingness or inability to provide affection or stimulation for the child in the course of daily care may also cause emotional abuse (Shelov, 1998). .
Emotional abuse can hurt as much as physical abuse, but it is much harder to identify because the marks are left on the inside. Naturally, there are very few well-validated measures of childhood emotional abuse. Clinicians can use a version of the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (CATS) that targets measures for emotional abuse (Sanders & Becker, 1995). Caregivers can also closely observe children's behaviors and personalities. Children suffering from emotional abuse are often extremely loyal to the parent, as well as being afraid of punishment if they report abuse, or think that this type of abuse is a normal way of life (Kent & Waller, 1998).
Some behavioral indicators of an emotionally abused child include inappropriate behavior that is immature or more mature for the child's age, dramatic behavioral changes (disruption of activities, clinging or compulsively seeking affection and attention), aggressiveness, uncooperativeness, bedwetting or loss of bowel control- after a child has been trained- and destructive or antisocial behavior (Janz, 1995).