Researchers say kids' taunts in the playground are as bad for mental health in adulthood as violence
Verbal abuse of children could be as damaging to their mental health in adulthood as physical abuse, according to researchers.
Those exposed to such abuse when young were likely to feel disconnected, pessimistic, and emotionally unwell in later life, according to a study of over 20,000 adults in England and Wales.
Adults who were physically abused as children had a 52 per cent higher chance of experiencing low mental well-being - around 64 per cent for those who had been subjected to solely verbal abuse.
While verbal abuse had a marginally higher impact, researchers said the difference was not statistically significant and further studies would be needed.
Being exposed to both types increased the risk by 115 per cent, according to the study - published in BMJ Open - led by Liverpool John Moores University.
Study lead author professor Mark Bellis said: 'Our research shows verbal abuse in childhood may inflict mental health scars as deep and enduring as those caused by physical abuse.'
The prevalence of verbal abuse had risen in recent decades 'eroding the long-term mental health benefits we should see from reducing physical abuse', the study suggested.
It found the prevalence of child physical abuse halved from 20 per cent among those born between 1950 and 1979 to ten per cent among those born in 2000 or later.
When it came to verbal abuse, the prevalence rose from 12 per cent among those born before 1950 to around 20 per cent among those born in 2000 or later.
Researchers said an estimated one in six children endured physical abuse, primarily from family members and caregivers - one in three of which were subjected to verbal abuse.
Jessica Bondy's the founder of Words Matter, an organization focused on ending childhood verbal abuse by adults, said: 'We must act now to confront the lasting harm caused by cruel, critical or controlling language. nWe need to build children up -not knock them down.
'The mental health of the next generation and our shared future depend on it.'
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