In the field of psychology, research is a constantly ongoing process, and new theories are being developed on a regular basis . Recently, researchers have attempted to evaluate the long-term effects that experiencing emotional maltreatment leaves on children. Emotional maltreatment is broadly defined as, “a repeated pattern of caregiver behavior or extreme incident(s) that convey to children that they are flawed, unloved, unwanted, endangered, or of value only in meeting another's needs” (Taillieu). This differs from physical maltreatment because it affects a person’s mental state, rather than their physical state. Although untrue, emotional maltreatment is thought as being less severe than physical maltreatment, therefore it lacks any laws to prevent it from happening to children. With no laws to protect children from this form of maltreatment, children are becoming steadily susceptible to the dangers of its effects. The scars that emotional maltreatment leaves are internal, and they carry heavy developmental consequences, such as depression and anxiety, that negatively alter a person’s mental health. Because emotional maltreatment leaves lasting negative effects on its victims, perhaps these issues can follow a person throughout their lifetime and cause difficulties in their future romantic relationships. 

In recent years, psychology researchers are opening discussion on emotional maltreatment, and seeking to study the negative effects it can leave on individuals. An article titled, “More Than Words”, written in 2014 by Andrew M. Campbell BS and Roberta Hibbard MD who work with the Pediatric Clinics of North America. The authors discuss the lack of attention emotional maltreatment receives when they say, “Emotional maltreatment, although often overlooked and underappreciated, may be the most complex, prevalent, and damaging form of child abuse or neglect” (Campbell). Researches have gathered a “conservative” estimate that up to 12% of American children experience emotional maltreatment from their parents, as of 2014. Emotional maltreatment also plays a role in 75%-90% of child physical maltreatment cases, however it is often overlooked because it does not exhibit any physical symptoms such as physical maltreatment does. 

With that being said, the scars that emotional maltreatment leaves can be far worse than any scar physical maltreatment leaves. Experiencing emotional maltreatment during childhood leaves lasting psychological effects on an individual into their adulthood, such as social and behavioral difficulties. Biologically speaking, “when a child does not receive healthy stimulus, which is often the case in an abusive or neglectful home environment, development of specific areas of the brain, for example those responsible for caring behavior and cognitive abilities, are damaged in a manner that becomes increasingly irreversible with age” (Campbell). The fact that emotional maltreatment towards children is still treated so trivially, and thus lacks any laws to prevent it from happening is why Campbell and Hibbard agree that it may be the most complex and damaging form of child maltreatment.

An interesting point is brought up in an article titled, “Childhood emotional maltreatment and mental disorders: Results from a nationally representative adult sample from the United States”. The article was written in 2016 by a handful of authors which include Tamara L. Taillieu, Douglas A. Brownridge, Jitender Sareen, and Tracie O. Afifi. The authors bring up a thought-provoking idea when they say, “Emotional maltreatment is a difficult construct to define and measure, and many different acts can be considered emotionally abusive” (Taillieu). Although researching the effects of experiencing childhood emotional maltreatment is possible, it may be difficult because of the different interpretations that researchers have proposed on “emotional maltreatment”. Being such a broad matter, emotional maltreatment can be difficult to define in one single definition and because of this, there can be a lack of consistency in research. 

In order to ensure consistent research, an established definition of “emotional maltreatment” must be devised prior to beginning a study. The researchers of this study developed their definition of emotional maltreatment, defining the five main types of emotional maltreatment as: spurning (the act of rejecting someone/something with disdain), terrorizing (creating a state of extreme fear or distress for someone), corrupting/exploiting (using someone for your own personal benefit), isolating (completely separating someone from all outside sources, and denying emotional responsiveness), and failing to provide care in a sensitive manner. These researchers have found that approximately 14% of U.S. adults have endured some form of emotional maltreatment during their childhood, and this maltreatment has been linked with increased odds for Axis I and Axis II disorders. Axis I disorders pertain to mood and anxiety disorders, such as major depressive disorder and social phobia, while Axis II disorders pertain to personality disorders, such as paranoia and antisocialness. The authors of this article also touch on the fact that emotional maltreatment can in fact cause a detriment to an individual’s future relationships when they state, “Childhood emotional neglect was associated with lifetime diagnoses of specific mental disorders...These disorders seem to suggest social withdrawal and avoidance of, or difficulty with, interpersonal relationships” (Taillieu). Upon examining the data they have collected, the authors conclude that emotional maltreatment is a major health concern because of its long-term impacts and influences on Axis I and Axis II mental disorders.

An engaging video titled, “Emotional Abuse is Far Worse than You Think”, talks about the new research that has been gathered on the negative effects of emotional maltreatment. The video begins by saying “A new study finds that emotional abuse is just as harmful as physical or sexual abuse. So why is no one talking about this?” (Long). The video stresses the fact that unlike physical and sexual maltreatment, there are no laws to protect children from emotional maltreatment, and it does not receive the same propaganda that the others do. According to a study that the video references, “children who are emotionally abused or neglected can develop similar, and sometimes even worse mental health problems than kids who are sexually or physically abused” (Long). Along with listing the different mental disorders that experiencing emotional maltreatment can lead to, the video includes a surprising fact that, “of the three kinds of abuse, psychological maltreatment specifically has the highest association with depression, anxiety, attachment issues, and substance abuse” (Long). Based on these findings, it can be concluded that emotional maltreatment desperately needs more attention than it receives so that it can be prevented and children are no longer left with long-lasting negative impacts on their mental health.

As evidence proves, experiencing emotional maltreatment as a child does leave a lasting negative impact on an individual’s mental health into adulthood. But how do these mental health struggles interfere with romantic relationships in adulthood? An article written in 2016 titled, “In their Own Words: How clinical depression affects romantic relationships”, was written by three researchers, Liesel L. Sharabi, Amy L. Delaney, and Leanne K. Knobloch. The authors specifically focus on the mental disorder clinical depression, which is one of the disorders that the previous article stated emotional maltreatment can cause. The format of this research article was a self-report study, which allows participants to freely express the struggles that they face in forming romantic relationships while suffering from clinical depression. 

The researchers divide the assorted problems that clinical depression poses in romantic relationships into categories that include: sexual intimacy, communication, emotional toll, isolation, lack of energy/motivation, dependence, lack of understanding, and uncertainty. Each category includes self-reports from people who either suffer from depression themselves, or are in a relationship with someone who suffers from depression, and they describe how depression affects each one of those mentioned areas of their relationships. After research was conducted, it was noted that, “Participants most frequently noted that depression took an emotional toll on the couple” (Sharabi). One partner provided an example of how emotional toll affects their relationship that reads, ‘‘If my partner is sad or depressed, it makes me feel sad and helpless” (Sharabi). The responses that the 135 participants supplied show the many ways that depression severely interferes with their romantic relationships. This data is valuable because it verifies the authors’ beliefs that depression does in fact interfere with everyday life, especially in romantic relationships because of the interdependence that partners have for each other.

The DNews video claimed that experiencing emotional maltreatment leads to attachment issues, which can be something that poses a large problem in future romantic relationships. In an article titled, “Adult attachment, stress, and romantic relationships”, written by Jeffrey A. Simpson and W. Steven Roles, the authors talk about the different ways that having attachment issues can affect romantic relationships. Simpson and Roles first break down attachment issues into two separate categories: avoidance and anxiety. Avoidance being, “the degree to which individuals are comfortable with closeness and emotional intimacy in relationships” (Simpson), and anxiety being, “the degree to which individuals worry about being underappreciated or abandoned by their romantic partners” (Simpson). The lack of care and concern that children receive from their parents while experiencing emotional maltreatment essentially leads to these types of trust issues such as avoidance and anxiety. 

Avoidance presents potential romantic relationship issues because, “Avoidant people strive to create and maintain independence, control, and autonomy in their relationships because they believe that seeking psychological/emotional proximity to romantic partners is either not possible or undesirable” (Simpson). This sense of independence and autonomy can create a dishonest environment in romantic relationships because the partner is regularly acting as an individual, rather than being in a co-dominant relationship. Anxiety goes hand in-hand with feelings of low self worth and rejection, stemming from the treatment the emotional maltreatment victim has received from their parents. These feelings can carry into romantic relationships because “Anxious individuals harbor negative self-views and guarded but hopeful views of their romantic partners. These conflicted perceptions lead anxious individuals to question their worth, worry about losing their partners, and remain vigilant to signs their partners might be pulling away from them” (Simpson). Suffering from anxiety in a romantic relationship can cause an individual to constantly question whether their partner truly wants to be in the relationship or not, provoking the partner to become heavily attached, which can end up pushing their partner away. Whether it is barely attached or highly attached, attachment issues cause romantic partners to push away from one another, which is just another way the effects of emotional maltreatment cause damage to future romantic relationships.

There are countless laws that have been put into effect to protect children from physical and sexual abuse. Adults who commit the crimes of either physical or sexual abuse towards children are either imprisoned or fined because these crimes are taken so seriously. But why is it that emotional maltreatment is not treated with the same sense of emphasis and urgency? Children who have been emotionally maltreated are left with the same mental health issues as children who have been physically or sexually abused are left with, such as depression and anxiety; how is it fair that children are not protected from this type of psychological abuse like they are from the others? This is why it is crucial to spread awareness about emotional maltreatment, so that people can be informed on the awful effects it has on children and what damage it can do to their futures. Many parents are probably not aware that the dismissive attitude or lack of empathy they have for their children can be setting up their child’s future for a rocky road of relationship struggles. In an article titled, “Child Abuse & Neglect: Recognizing the Signs and Making a Difference”, by Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal, the authors proclaim, “If you can’t trust your parents, who can you trust?” (Smith). This explains the depth of the impact that parents have on their children, which is why it is vital to protect children from the harmful effects of emotional maltreatment.

Many parents unconsciously emotionally maltreat their children because that is how they were raised by their parents. Thus, they do not know any parenting style other than the one they recieved, so the vicious cycle of emotional maltreatment continues. It is imperative for children who have been emotionally maltreated to recognize the struggle they had to endure, and make an conscious effort to put the cycle to an end. Veronica Jarski, founder of “The Invisible Scar”, a blog to help the survivors of childhood emotional maltreatment writes, “If the adult seeks therapy and healing from an abusive childhood, the adult child can break the emotional abuse cycle and not perpetuate the abuse with their own children” (Jarski). This ideal can also be related to the child’s future romantic relationships. Often times, children who have been victims of emotional maltreatment think that relationships such as the one they had with their parents are considered “healthy”. This happens because children become so accustomed to the poor treatment from their parents that they convince themselves that that treatment is the norm. When this happens, those children carry that mindset into their adult romantic relationships, which creates unhealthy relationships with their partners that often end in turmoil. 

Some do not believe that having a mental illness has any true impact on relationships, for example, Molly Pohig says, “All they’ve seen are TV shows, and they think that if you say, 'I have a mental illness,' it means you’re a psychopath” (Khan). More often than not, it can be a challenge for healthy-minded individuals to relate to or even support their partners who suffer from a mental illness. This is because healthy-minded individuals truly do not know what their partners are going through, and mental illness can be a complex issue that is exceedingly hard to understand. Despite this, some argue that as soon as your partner is able to understand your mental illness, the relationship is able to flourish with no complications. However, it truly is not just as simple as that. The road to getting your partner to understand your mental illness can be long and taxing, and many times, relationships crumble under the pressure of it all.

Emotional maltreatment, although not considered a critical societal issue by many, is actually one of the largest issues that today’s society faces. Thousands of children are falling victim to this type of abuse, and there is nothing being done to stop it. In turn, thousands of children are being put into situations where there is a likelihood that they will end up developing a mental illness, and there is nothing they can do to control it. This is unquestionably unfair and unfortunate that children’s futures are being negatively impacted because of the emotional maltreatment they are receiving from their parents. As research has proven, the mental disorders that result from experiencing emotional maltreatment can present major obstacles in future romantic relationships. It is important as a society to begin raising awareness of this epidemic that is affecting countless children and their futures. To not be able to form loving and lasting romantic relationships in adulthood, solely because of hurtful experiences from an individual’s childhood is downright cruel, and the only way the cycle can be permanently stopped is by exposing the whole truth about emotional maltreatment.
