Exposure to psychological abuse more damaging for kid's well-being: Study

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London: A new study has showed that exposure to psychological abuse between parents has more damaging effect on kid's well-being than physical domestic violence.

The finding showed evidence of exposure to high levels of psychological abuse like name-calling, intimidation, isolation, manipulation and control, was associated with a decrease in children's satisfaction with their social support.

We also found that exposure to high levels of physical domestic violence has a protective effect in terms of satisfaction with social support for those also exposed to high levels of intra-parental psychological abuse.

Catherine Naughton from University of Limerick (UL), Ireland said,"When children are exposed to both physical violence as well as psychological domestic abuse in the home, they were more likely to be happier with the social support they were able to access."

Naughton added, "psychological domestic abuse when it occurred alone seems to be the most damaging, perhaps because people are unable to recognise and speak out about it."

For the study, the team examined 465 young adults aged 17 to 25 years.

They reported experiencing two distinct yet interrelated types of domestic abuse in their families of origin: physical which includes hitting, punching, kicking and use of a weapon; and, psychological abuse including arguing, name-calling or behaviour that is intimidating, isolating, manipulating or controlling.

Naughton stated,"Our findings show that it was young people's exposure to the psychological dimension of domestic abuse, which had a detrimental impact on their psychological well-being. Exposure to the physical dimension did not have any additional negative effect on well-being."

The study was published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

(With IANS inputs)