Verbal abuse is a type of emotional abuse. It is when someone uses their words to assault, dominate, ridicule, manipulate, and/or degrade another person and negatively impact that person's psychological health. Verbal abuse is a means of controlling and maintaining power over another person.1
Most people assume that if they were being verbally abused they would know about it. After all, verbal abuse often involves yelling, put-downs, name-calling, and belittling behaviors. But there is more to verbal abuse than people realize. Some people are verbally abused on a regular basis without even recognizing that it’s happening.2
Verbal abuse can occur in any type of relationship: romantic relationships, parent-child relationships, family relationships, and co-worker relationships.
Verbal abuse sometimes precedes physical abuse; however, this is not always the case. Verbal abuse can exist without physical abuse. The effects of verbal abuse can be just as damaging as those of physical abuse.1
This article covers what verbal abuse is, the signs and impact of verbal abuse, as well as how to seek help if you are coping with the effects of verbal abuse.
Verbal abuse is a type of emotional abuse. It is when someone uses their words to assault, dominate, ridicule, manipulate, and/or degrade another person and negatively impact that person's psychological health. Verbal abuse is a means of controlling and maintaining power over another person.1
Most people assume that if they were being verbally abused they would know about it. After all, verbal abuse often involves yelling, put-downs, name-calling, and belittling behaviors. But there is more to verbal abuse than people realize. Some people are verbally abused on a regular basis without even recognizing that it’s happening.2
Verbal abuse can occur in any type of relationship: romantic relationships, parent-child relationships, family relationships, and co-worker relationships.
Verbal abuse sometimes precedes physical abuse; however, this is not always the case. Verbal abuse can exist without physical abuse. The effects of verbal abuse can be just as damaging as those of physical abuse.1
This article covers what verbal abuse is, the signs and impact of verbal abuse, as well as how to seek help if you are coping with the effects of verbal abuse.
11 Sources
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Karakurt G, Silver KE. Emotional abuse in intimate relationships: the role of gender and age. Violence Vict. 2013;28(5):804-821. doi:10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-12-00041
Wong P, Matthies B. Verbal abuse in married versus non-married couples: the relationship between perception of acceptability and experience. Mod Psychol Stud. 2010;15(2):63-72.
Yun JY, Shim G, Jeong B. Verbal abuse related to self-esteem damage and unjust blame harms mental health and social interaction in college population. Sci Rep. 2019;9:5655. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42199-6
Sweet LP. The sociology of gaslighting. Am Socio Rev. 2019;84(5):851-875. doi:10.1177/0003122419874843
Shdaifat EA, Al Amer MM, Jamama AA. Verbal abuse and psychological disorders among nursing student interns in KSA. J Taibah Univ Med Sci. 2020;15(1):66-74. doi:10.1016/j.jtumed.2019.12.007
Iram Rizvi SF, Najam N. Parental psychological abuse toward children and mental health problems in adolescence. Pak J Med Sci. 2014;30(2):256-260.
Beck JG, McNiff J, Clapp JD, Olsen SA, Avery ML, Hagewood JH. Exploring negative emotion in women experiencing intimate partner violence: Shame, guilt, and PTSD. Behav Ther. 2011;42(4):740-750. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2011.04.001
Grossman FK, Spinazzola J, Zucker M, Hopper E. Treating adult survivors of childhood emotional abuse and neglect: A new framework. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2017;87(1):86-93. doi:10.1037/ort0000225
Iram Rizvi SF, Najam N. Parental psychological abuse toward children and mental health problems in adolescence. Pak J Med Sci. 2014;30(2):256-60.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What is employment discrimination?.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Harassment.
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