22 Types of Childhood Verbal Abuse and Their Damage

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Maltreatment during childhood significantly increases someone's risk of experiencing depression and anxiety in adulthood.

In 2015, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 199 peer-reviewed papers published from 1990-2014 concluded that "a 10-25 percent reduction in [childhood] maltreatment could potentially prevent 31.4-80.3 million depression and anxiety cases worldwide."

Currently, four subtypes are used to categorize child maltreatment: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Verbal abuse is noticeably absent. Of those four, a June 2023 study of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among U.S. adults found that emotional abuse significantly increased during the last decade (2011-2020) compared to the other three listed forms of child maltreatment.

Because "emotional abuse" is a broad and not-clearly-defined term, there's a growing movement to add "verbal abuse" as a stand-alone category of child maltreatment, bringing the total number of subtypes to five.

Childhood Verbal Abuse Should Be a Subtype

A new systematic review and meta-analysis published in the October 2023 issue of Child Abuse & Neglect clarifies the definition of childhood verbal abuse (CVA) and gives many reasons why it should be recognized as a standalone subtype of child maltreatment. These reasons include the increased prevalence of emotional abuse and verbal abuse's long-term mental health consequences.

Defining childhood verbal abuse based on specific verbally abusive acts is a pivotal step in eliminating it.

The recently published (2023) systematic review and meta-analysis of Childhood Verbal Abuse as a Child Maltreatment Subtype looked at 149 quantitative and 17 qualitative studies. Within these 166 studies, almost two dozen types of childhood verbal abuse were identified or referenced. First author Shanta Dube and coauthors write, "Across studies reviewed, the most common perpetrators of childhood verbal abuse were parents, mothers, and teachers. Definitional themes for CVA included negative speech volume, tone, speech content, and their immediate impact."

Raising one's voice at a child or using a harsh tone were among the most common behaviors associated with CVA. Other common types of childhood verbal abuse include belittling, shaming, making negative comparisons, name-calling, and scapegoating.

Here is an alphabetized list of 22 ways that childhood verbal childhood abuse is characterized in the literature on this topic. This list doesn't completely represent all the nuanced ways CVA can manifest, but it's a starting point toward a unified definition of childhood verbal abuse.

22 Types of Childhood Verbal Abuse (in alphabetical order)

1. Any derogatory language
2. Belittling
3. Blaming
4. Criticizing
5. Demeaning
6. Disrespecting
7. Humiliating
8. Insulting
9. Intimidating
10. Making negative comparisons
11. Making negative predictions
12. Name-calling
13. Putting-down
14. Ridiculing
15. Scapegoating
16. Scolding
17. Shaming
18. Shouting
19. Swearing
20. Teasing
21. Threatening
22. Yelling

Verbally abusive acts can include—but are not limited to—one or more of the 22 items listed.

In addition to spoken acts of verbal abuse during adult-child communication, being non-communicative and giving someone the "silent treatment" could also be considered a (non-verbal) form of verbal abuse because it weaponizes language by withholding it. As Dube et al. explain, "Just as children require nurturing, safe, and supportive physical environments from adult caregivers, they also require communication from adults that does not denigrate but promotes healthy self-concept and development."

Conclusion

Evidence suggests that childhood verbal abuse can damage healthy child development as other forms of child maltreatment, such as physical or sexual abuse. Identifying at least 22 specific ways childhood verbal abuse has been described in over 165 published papers is a valuable step toward tagging verbally abusive acts and officially making CVA a stand-alone category of child maltreatment.

As Dube et al. conclude, "Recognizing childhood verbal abuse as a form of maltreatment will be a starting point for its identification and prevention. Primary prevention of CVA using trauma-informed approaches must include adult training on the importance of safety, support, and nurturance during verbal communication with children."

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