It is as harmful as physical abuse for children’s mental health
“The sticks and stones could break my bones, but the words will never hurt me.”
“The sticks and stones could break my bones, but the words will never hurt me.”
This old saying is simply incorrect, argues a new study.
Verbal abuse inflicted on childhood can damage a person’s future mental health as well as physical abuse, researchers reported on August 5 in the magazine BMJ Open.
Verbal abuse increased by 64% the chances of a child of low mental well -being in adulthood, while physical abuse increased probabilities by 52%, researchers found.
Those who suffered verbal and physical abuse were twice as a risk of mental well -being that adults, according to the results.
“The immediate consequences of children’s physical abuse are often shocking, with immediate impacts and throughout the life of the victims,” wrote the research team led by Mark Bellis, professor of public health and behavioral sciences at the John Moores University of Liverpool, in the United Kingdom.
“Verbal abuse may not immediately manifest in a way that attracts the attention of passersby, doctors or other people in support services with the responsibility of protecting children,” the researchers continued. “However, as suggested here, some impacts may not be less harmful or prolonged.”
Worldwide, around 1 in 6 children suffers physical abuse from the family or caregivers, which has been related to depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug abuse, violence and serious health problems in adulthood, researchers said in back notes.
But verbal abuse is also a source of toxic stress that can affect the brain development of the children, the researchers noted. In addition, it is more common, with an estimate of 1 in 3 children subjected to verbal abuse.
To see how this abuse could damage the future mental health of the children, the researchers tracked more than 20,600 children born in England and Wales since the 1950s onwards.
The results show that cases of physical abuse decreased from about 20% in children born between 1950 and 1979 to 10% in those born in 2000 or later.
However, verbal abuse has increased, going from about 12% of children born before 1950 to almost 20% of those born in 2000 or later.
The researchers also found that verbal abuse was as harmful to the psyche as physical abuse.
About 24% of children undergoing verbal abuse had a low mental well -being in adulthood, compared to almost 23% of physically abused and 29% of those subject to verbal and physical abuse, according to the study.
In comparison, only 16% of the children who did not suffer abuse ended up with a low mental well -being in adulthood.
Adults with low mental well -being were less likely to feel optimistic, useful, relaxed or close to other people, researchers said. They also had trouble dealing with problems, thinking clearly or being able to make their own decisions.
In almost all cases, verbal abuse affected these individual welfare markers in a more dramatic way than physical abuse, according to the results.
For example, physical abuse in childhood increased the probabilities of an adult not feeling close to others by 33%, but verbal abuse increased the probabilities by 90%, according to the study. Adults had 2.7 times more likely or rarely feel close to others if they had suffered verbal and physical abuse.
“Despite the political and public approach in physical violence and abuse of children, the results here suggest that child verbal abuse can have consequences for the mental well -being of a similar magnitude,” the researchers concluded. “Even when physical abuse is part of the children’s experiences of individuals, those who also experience verbal abuse are exposed to additional risk.” August 2025 (Healthday News)
