However, for people what most of us fail to notice is that this is also one of the most severe types of abuse since it leaves a latent but long-lasting (even permanent) damage to an individual that experiences it. In a study done in the effects of abuse to young individuals, it was found that the effects of verbal and psychological abuse is much greater for a child and an adolescent, especially because this is the stage where they are most vulnerable to these kinds of attacks (Al Odhayani, Watson, & Watson, 2013). However, what makes this more severe is the fact that abuse is not only experienced by the child from his/her peers but at times even from parents/guardians, who are supposed to guide them in their development. In this article a discussion of the effects of verbal and psychological abuse to children and adolescents. The article will focus on two forms of abuse (1) the parents/guardians and (2) peer groups (bullying). Lastly, this article would also try to expound on the effects of “cyberbullying” for children and adolescents …show more content…
This would include both the stages of preschool (3-5 years), school age (6-12 years), and adolescent (12 to 18 years) (David, 2014). Individuals in this stage are considered to be most vulnerable to any kind of abuse, but most especially in terms of psychological and verbal ones. In fact, it is said these types are one of the three most persistent types of abuse in bullying, which includes verbal, psychological, and physical (Ronald, n.d.). On one hand, verbal abuse was defined by Patricelli (2005), as the use of words, phrases, and even body language which are aimed at hurting and/or inappropriately criticizing another person. On the other hand, she defined psychological abuse as the control exerted by an individual towards the availability of information for the victim in order to “manipulate that person's sense of reality; what is acceptable and what is not acceptable” (Patricelli, 2005). Both of these would be included and further discussed in the succeeding sections of this analysis. Lastly, Bullying is defined as “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance” (StopBullying.Gov, 2017). Bullying could also be further narrowed down in terms of the types of “aggressive behavior” employed by the bullies, with verbal bullying, including acts such as name-calling, teasing, and taunting, while