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Impact of verbal abuse as a child just as harmful as physical abuse

Globally, one in six children are estimated to suffer physical abuse within domestic and family relationships. As well as immediate health risks associated with the physical trauma of abuse, physical abuse can have lifelong impacts on mental and physical health and well-being. Thus, even as adults, individuals who have been physically abused as children show higher levels of anxiety and depression as well as more problematic alcohol and drug use.

As a source of toxic stress, verbal abuse, like physical abuse, may affect the neurobiological development of children, leading to immediate and long-term impacts on health and well-being. Like physical abuse, verbal abuse has also been linked with poor mental and physical health outcomes during childhood and across the life course. Increasingly, empirical evidence supports verbal abuse causing damage to child development.

For the study, Comparative relationships between physical and verbal abuse of children, life course mental well-being and trends in exposure: a multi-study secondary analysis of cross-sectional surveys in England and Wales, VISION researcher Professor Mark Bellis and his team, combined data from multiple studies measuring child abuse across England and Wales. They tested the associations with poorer mental well-being across the life course with experiencing physical abuse or verbal abuse as a child individually as well as the impact associated with combined exposure to both abuse types.

Their research showed that exposure to childhood physical or verbal abuse has similar associations with lower mental wellbeing during adulthood. In fact, results identified around a 50% increase in likelihood of low mental wellbeing related to exposure to either form of abuse. With regard to verbal abuse, children who experienced ridicule, threats or humiliation from a parent / guardian have a 64% higher chance of poor mental health as an adult. The researchers also discovered that whilst physical abuse reduces over time, verbal abuse increases.

Verbal abuse may not immediately manifest in ways that catch the attention of bystanders, clinicians, or others in supporting services with a responsibility for safeguarding children. However, as suggested here, some impacts may be no less harmful or protracted. The potential impact of verbal abuse should be better considered in policy, and parenting and child protection interventions. The potential role of childhood verbal abuse in escalating levels of poor mental health among younger age groups needs greater consideration.

Recommendation

Interventions to reduce child abuse, including physical chastisement, should consider both physical and verbal abuse and their individual and combined consequences to life course health.

To download: Comparative relationships between physical and verbal abuse of children, life course mental well-being and trends in exposure: a multi-study secondary analysis of cross-sectional surveys in England and Wales

To cite: Bellis MA, Hughes K, Ford K, et al. Comparative relationships between physical and verbal abuse of children, life course mental well-being and trends in exposure: a multi-study secondary analysis of cross-sectional surveys in England and Wales. BMJ Open 2025;15:e098412. http://doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-098412

For further information, please contact Mark at m.a.bellis@ljmu.ac.uk

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The economic burden of child maltreatment and co-occurring parental domestic violence and abuse in the UK

Child maltreatment (CM) and parental domestic violence and abuse (pDVA) impose considerable lifelong adverse outcomes on those affected. Approximately 8.5 million adults in England and Wales are estimated to have been exposed to CM (physical, sexual or emotional abuse or emotional or physical neglect of a child by a parent or caregiver) before their 16th birthday. Despite sharing multiple family and environmental risk factors, the economic burden of child exposure where they co-occur has not previously been estimated in detail.

VISION researcher Professor Gene Feder estimated average lifetime societal costs resulting from CM or childhood exposure to pDVA, and incremental costs for scenarios where they co-occur with lead researcher Dr Kevin Gilbert at the University of Cambridge and others.

The findings showed that lifetime costs for childhood exposure to CM and/or pDVA, were £71,309 per child (non-fatal exposure), and £1,292,377 per CM fatality, with £27.8 billion projected costs (2013 UK birth cohort).

Total costs for exposure to pDVA alone was £1.0 billion (£16,639 per child exposed), rising to £2.0 billion (£71,037 per exposed child) for children reporting awareness of pDVA. Co-occurring CM and pDVA imposed greater costs than either alone, including costs from child perpetration of intimate partner violence.

As a result of the research the team concluded that CM and/or pDVA exposure incurs large personal and societal economic burdens. Costs from both pDVA exposure and intergenerational transmission of IPV perpetration highlight the importance for policies to address both CM and domestic violence and abuse in affected households.

Given the scale of burden accrued over the life course after CM and/or pDVA exposure, this model can provide a framework upon which policy makers can identify the best use of resources to maximise the societal benefits from the effective interventions needed to tackle a complex social issue.

To download the article: The economic burden of child maltreatment and co-occurring parental domestic violence and abuse in the UK

To cite: Herbert K, Feder G, Gilbert R, Powell C, Howarth E, Morris S. The economic burden of child maltreatment and co-occurring parental domestic violence and abuse in the UK. Child Abuse Negl. 2025 Mar 31;163:107435. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107435. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40168916.

For further information, please contact Kevin at kch28@medschl.cam.ac.uk

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