UCL experts call for urgent action on childhood verbal abuse at House of Commons

At the event, hosted by Sharon Hodgson MP and organised by the charity Words Matter, Professors Peter Fonagy and Eamon McCrory (both UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) highlighted the critical need to include verbal abuse prevention in the Government’s mission to raise the healthiest generation of children in history and break down barriers to opportunity.

Suggestions for preventing verbal abuse prevention included greater training, awareness, and support for all adults in children’s lives.

Professor McCrory highlighted the urgency of the situation by detailing findings from several of his previous brain imaging studies, which found that verbal abuse shapes how a child’s brain works and can alter the systems critical to feeling safe, building relationships, and finding joy and connection.

Professor McCrory said: “Verbal abuse profoundly affects children and young people, significantly increasing risk of mental health and social problems throughout life.

“Our imaging studies clearly show how emotional harm, including verbal abuse, reshapes brain development, altering how young people think of themselves and respond to life’s challenges.

“It’s crucial to help parents and carers understand the lasting impact their words can have, including their potential to nurture and inspire the next generation.”

Scans of children’s brains that Professor McCrory has undertaken using functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) have shown that “sustained exposure to abuse, including verbal abuse, leads to significant biological alterations in the brain’s structure and function.”

It can alter both the “threats” and “rewards” circuits in a child’s brain, which play a key role in helping them to navigate the world and also in building and maintaining relationships.

Professor McCrory added: “Our imaging studies show how abuse, including verbal abuse, can alter a child’s brain so that the world is perceived as a more dangerous place.”

Childhood verbal abuse includes blaming, insulting, scolding, criticising, or threatening children. Its long-term effects include anxiety, depression, eating disorders, sleep difficulties, substance misuse, self-harm, and suicide.

In the UK, two in five children (41%) experience verbal abuse, with over half exposed to it weekly and one in 10 every day.

Parents, carers, teachers, and activity leaders/coaches are the primary sources. However, the issue cuts across all social and regional boundaries, with experts in the US and UK previously stating that verbal abuse can be as damaging as physical or sexual abuse.

Professor Peter Fonagy said: “We must bring verbal abuse out of the shadows and give it the same attention as other forms of maltreatment. It is one of the most preventable causes of mental health problems.

“Harsh words can actively weaken the brain’s foundation during development. Children need kind, supportive communication from adults – it’s vital for building their identity and emotional resilience.”

Commenting on the discussion, Sharon Hodgson MP said: “Important progress has been made in tackling physical and sexual abuse through awareness and intervention. But verbal abuse has remained under the radar.

“As we’ve heard today, it is now the most common form of childhood maltreatment, with significant and lasting harm. I’m proud to support Words Matter in bringing experts together to start the essential conversations needed to build interventions, break down barriers to opportunity, and help every child thrive.”

Founder of Words Matter, Jessica Bondy, added: If we are serious about raising the healthiest generation in history and breaking down barriers to opportunity, we must focus on how adults speak to children.

“Words have power. For a child, harsh language can tear them down and affect every part of their life – at home, at school, in their future relationships and contribution to society. When we respect children with our words, we teach them to respect themselves and others.”

Links

• Professor Eamon McCrory's academic profile
• Professor Peter Fonagy's academic profile
• UCL Psychology & Language Sciences
• UCL Brain Sciences
• Words Matter

Image

• Credit: chameleonseye on iStock

Media contact 

Poppy Tombs 

E: p.tombs [at] ucl.ac.uk