Latest news with #Mark Bellis
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Researchers say kids' taunts in the playground are as bad for mental health in adulthood as violence
'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me' is the playground chant aimed at bullies by kids through the generations but it seems those words may not be true, after all. 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.'
The Independent
7 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
‘Childhood verbal abuse can have similar mental health impact as physical abuse'
Verbal abuse of children could be as damaging to their mental health in adulthood as physical abuse, according to researchers. A study of more than 20,000 adults in England and Wales found that people exposed to verbal abuse in childhood were likely to feel disconnected, pessimistic, and emotionally unwell in later life. Adults who were physically abused as children had a 52% higher chance of experiencing low mental wellbeing, and this stood at around 64% for those who had been subjected to solely verbal abuse. While verbal abuse did show as having a marginally higher impact in this study, the researchers said the difference was not statistically significant and that further studies would be needed perhaps with a larger sample size to confirm the validity of the difference. Being exposed to both types of abuse compounded the risk even further, at 115% higher, the study led by Liverpool John Moores University found. Lead author, Professor Mark Bellis, who is director of research and innovation at the university, said: 'Our research shows that verbal abuse in childhood may inflict mental health scars as deep and enduring as those caused by physical abuse. Important progress has been made in reducing physical abuse, but verbal abuse is often overlooked.' The study, published in the BMJ Open, also suggested the prevalence of verbal abuse has risen in recent decades 'eroding the long-term mental health benefits we should see from reducing physical abuse'. The authors worked alongside Bangor University and Public Health Wales to pool data from seven relevant studies, involving 20,687 adults from England and Wales and looking at birth cohorts from the 1950s onwards. They found that the prevalence of child physical abuse halved from around 20% among those born between 1950 and 1979 to 10% among those born in 2000 or later. But when it came to verbal abuse, the prevalence rose from 12% among those born before 1950 to around 20% among those born in 2000 or later. The researchers said an estimated one in six children endure physical abuse, primarily from family members and caregivers, but one in three are subjected to verbal abuse. Jessica Bondy, founder of Words Matter, an organisation focused on ending childhood verbal abuse by adults said: 'This study confirms what survivors and professionals have long known: words can wound deeply and have a lasting impact on a child's mental health and development. We all get overloaded sometimes, but too many adults are turning to harsh words without realising the lasting damage they cause to children. 'Any gains made in reducing physical abuse risk being undone by rising rates of verbal abuse. We must act now to confront the lasting harm caused by cruel, critical or controlling language. We need to build children up – not knock them down. The mental health of the next generation and our shared future depend on it.'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Childhood verbal abuse can have similar mental health impact as physical abuse'
Verbal abuse of children could be as damaging to their mental health in adulthood as physical abuse, according to researchers. A study of more than 20,000 adults in England and Wales found that people exposed to verbal abuse in childhood were likely to feel disconnected, pessimistic, and emotionally unwell in later life. Adults who were physically abused as children had a 52% higher chance of experiencing low mental wellbeing, and this stood at around 64% for those who had been subjected to solely verbal abuse. While verbal abuse did show as having a marginally higher impact in this study, the researchers said the difference was not statistically significant and that further studies would be needed perhaps with a larger sample size to confirm the validity of the difference. Being exposed to both types of abuse compounded the risk even further, at 115% higher, the study led by Liverpool John Moores University found. Lead author, Professor Mark Bellis, who is director of research and innovation at the university, said: 'Our research shows that verbal abuse in childhood may inflict mental health scars as deep and enduring as those caused by physical abuse. Important progress has been made in reducing physical abuse, but verbal abuse is often overlooked.' The study, published in the BMJ Open, also suggested the prevalence of verbal abuse has risen in recent decades 'eroding the long-term mental health benefits we should see from reducing physical abuse'. The authors worked alongside Bangor University and Public Health Wales to pool data from seven relevant studies, involving 20,687 adults from England and Wales and looking at birth cohorts from the 1950s onwards. They found that the prevalence of child physical abuse halved from around 20% among those born between 1950 and 1979 to 10% among those born in 2000 or later. But when it came to verbal abuse, the prevalence rose from 12% among those born before 1950 to around 20% among those born in 2000 or later. The researchers said an estimated one in six children endure physical abuse, primarily from family members and caregivers, but one in three are subjected to verbal abuse. Jessica Bondy, founder of Words Matter, an organisation focused on ending childhood verbal abuse by adults said: 'This study confirms what survivors and professionals have long known: words can wound deeply and have a lasting impact on a child's mental health and development. We all get overloaded sometimes, but too many adults are turning to harsh words without realising the lasting damage they cause to children. 'Any gains made in reducing physical abuse risk being undone by rising rates of verbal abuse. We must act now to confront the lasting harm caused by cruel, critical or controlling language. We need to build children up – not knock them down. The mental health of the next generation and our shared future depend on it.'
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Sticks and stones may break your bones but words WILL really hurt you: Researchers say childhood taunts are as bad for adult mental health as violence
It's been a playground retort to bullies for generations of children. But it seems 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me', may not be true after all. 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, a study of more than 20,000 adults in England and Wales found. Adults who were physically abused as children had a 52 per cent higher chance of experiencing low mental wellbeing. This stood at around 64 per cent for those who had been subjected to solely verbal abuse. While verbal abuse had this 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, the study led by Liverpool John Moores University found. Professor Mark Bellis, the study's lead author, 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 has risen in recent decades 'eroding the long-term mental health benefits we should see from reducing physical abuse', the study, published in BMJ Open, suggested. It found the prevalence of child physical abuse halved from 20 per cent among those born between 1950 and 1979 to 10 per cent among those born in 2000 or later. But 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 endure physical abuse, primarily from family members and caregivers. One in three are subjected to verbal abuse. Jessica Bondy, founder of Words Matter, which aims to end childhood verbal abuse by adults, said: 'We must act now to confront the lasting harm caused by cruel, critical or controlling language. 'We need to build children up – not knock them down. 'The mental health of the next generation and our shared future depend on it.'
