Preventing emotional abuse of children: The role of parenting support
Recent research suggests emotional abuse in childhood is highly prevalent and contributes to a range of physical, social and psychological problems. Despite this, emotional abuse in childhood is poorly understood compared to other forms of child maltreatment, such as physical or sexual abuse, and is often overlooked in practice settings.
Recently, the Australian Child Maltreatment Study found that about 35% of young people aged 16-24 years had previously experienced emotional abuse, with the rate 1.5 times higher among girls than boys. Furthermore, individuals who experienced emotional abuse in childhood were 2.3 times more likely to have attempted suicide in the past 12 months and 2.1 times more likely to have self-harmed, even after accounting for other experiences of maltreatment.
Emotional abuse occurs at the hands of parents and primary caregivers and can overlap with other unhelpful forms of parenting. This makes the family environment key for the prevention of emotional abuse in childhood. Parenting programs have been shown to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors associated with child maltreatment.
In partnership with the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) as part of National Child Protection Week, this webinar aims to contribute to the dialogue on this years’ theme of ‘where we start matters’.
This webinar will help you:
• understand the nature, prevalence and impact of emotional abuse in childhood
• identify the family-related risk and protective factors associated with early adversity and child maltreatment
• consider the role of parenting support in preventing and reducing emotional abuse in childhood
• start conversations about emotional abuse with parents and children and assess the impact the abuse is having.
This webinar will interest practitioners working in child and family services, child protection, family law, parenting and relationship services, health and education. Register here
