New Study on Verbal Abuse Good Timing for Alec Baldwin Case

With the advent of Alec Baldwin's poor parenting skills and abusive comments to his daughter made public, the results of a study on verbal abuse have met with perfect timing.

"Scolding, swearing, yelling, blaming, insulting, threatening, ridiculing, demeaning, and criticizing can be as harmful as physical abuse, sexual abuse outside the home, or witnessing physical abuse at home," notes the April 2007 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter.

The Harvard report indicates that constant severe verbal abuse increases the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, child victims of verbal abuse exhibit higher rates of physical aggression, delinquency, and social problems than do other children.

Child abuse comes in many forms and verbal abuse is one of the most common yet understudied forms of abuse despite its propensity.

Recent Study on Verbal Abuse

According to the Harvard Gazette, this prompted Martin Teicher, associate professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital, and colleagues to compare the impact of childhood verbal abuse with victims of verbal abuse and physical or sexual abuse and/or exposure to domestic violence.

The study included 554 young adults aged 18 to 24 who filled out questionnaires about their childhood following exposure to commercials involving an unhappy childhood.

Researchers found that verbal abuse had as great an impact as physical or non-domestic "sexual mistreatment." Victims of verbal abuse alone were found to be at greater risk for depression, anger control and dissociation disorders.

The dissociation disorders included lapses of memory of personal history, hallucinations, feeling unreal and "unconsciously converting painful emotions into physical symptoms, and multiple personalities."

It is unknown yet whether verbal abuse produces physical changes in the brain, as is found in studies physical and sexual abuse, and/or such problems may relate to having a poor model for interpersonal relationships.

Additionally, verbal abuse may result in "insecure attachments to others, negative feelings about oneself in relation to others, poor social functioning, and lowered self-esteem and coping strategies", says, Teicher.

The Media and Verbal Abuse

This study in light of high profile cases like Baldwin's shows the dangers for society if they become apathetic to the real problems of verbal abuse.

Much of society bares disdain for celebrity vilification and can often see through it.

Further, sympathetic persons may wonder if given the same set of circumstances, if they too could act similarly.

Individuals are often guilty of verbal abuse at one time or another and few scenarios in life elicit the turmoil and furor as does a child custody battle, nor bring out the worst in a person quite so readily.

But Baldwin's case aside, the victim of verbal abuse is not the one on the giving end, it is the receiver, child or adult, and most abusers would like to believe and have others believe differently.

Verbal Abuse - The New Form of Discipline?

For many reasons the verbal abuse of children is escalating and only recently getting some of the attention it needs.

With evolving laws and social stigmas, the mere spanking of a child can be considered abuse and threatens parental rights. Parents, without sufficient knowledge or practice of alternatives, may instead result to verbal abuse as a means of controlling and disciplining a child.

While one can argue the merits of spanking, teens and adults in need of professional treatment for low-self esteem, sucidality, drug abuse, delinquency and anxiety disorders do not often complain of the spankings received in childhood.

Their memories are tied to how they were made to feel as children and verbal abuse is a common thread for many.

Source: Harvard Gazette (http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/04.26/05-abuse.html) April, 2007