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toward himself and others and the child's parents are unwilling to provide treatment
for this. They reco=end that the courts be used to force parents to take the child for
treatment. Fontana (1978) also included the child with multiple evidence of emotional
deprivation in the broader definition of child abuse (Mc Kay 1983 : 22).
lones (1977) noted that the symptoms of emotional abuse in the child were:
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Impaired capacity for enjoyment.
Behavioural adjustment symptoms.
Low self esteem.
Withdrawal.
Opposition.
Hypervigilance.
Compulsivity.
Pseudo-adult behaviour.
School learning problems.
Halperin (1979 : 23) defines emotional abuse as interference with the healthy personal
and social development ofa child. Emotional abuse is noteworthy in that its effects are
cumulative rather than isolated and they eventually display themselves in the
behaviour of the child. Parents who expect their children to do well at school and who
ridicule them when they do not - to the point where they feel worthless, are guilty of
emotional abuse in that they damage their children's feelings of self-worth and leave
them feeling rejected. The co=on factor in all emotional abuse cases is that parents
hinder the growth of their children by speech or action. Halperin (1979) distinguishes
between emotional abuse and emotional neglect by pointing out that emotionally
abused children may have all the bodily essentials of existence but lack involvement
and concern from their parents or caretakers; whereas neglected children do not have
the pre-requisites for healthy child development through omission of food, clothing,
medicine, etc.
Constant criticism, domination, denial and deprivation of both intellectual and