'Verbal abuse of children as damaging as physical'

VERBAL abuse of children could be as damaging to their mental health in adulthood as physical abuse, according to researchers.

- AINE FOX

A study of more than 20,000 adults in Wales and England found that people exposed to verbal abuse in childhood were likely to feel disconnected, pessimistic, and emotionally unwell in later life.

Adults who were physically abused as children had a 52% higher chance of experiencing low mental wellbeing, and this stood at around 64% for those who had been subjected to solely verbal abuse.

While verbal abuse did show as having a marginally higher impact in this study, the researchers said the difference was not statistically significant and that further studies would be needed, perhaps with a larger sample size to confirm the validity of the difference.

Being exposed to both types of abuse compounded the risk even further, at 115% higher, the study led by Liverpool John Moores University found.