Child verbal abuse by adults costs society an estimated $300 billion (£239 billion) a year worldwide, findings presented at the first international conference on child verbal abuse, organized by UCL, Words Matter and the World Health Organization (WHO).
He Words Matter: Impact and Prevention of Childhood Verbal Abuse The conference marks the first time that experts from around the world have come together to focus attention on the damage that childhood verbal abuse causes across the lifespan and the need to develop solutions.
Child verbal abuse involves behaviors that can be detrimental to the child’s well-being, such as belittling, yelling, and using threatening language.
The new study, led by Professor Xiangming Fang (China Agricultural University and Georgia State University) used data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s violence against children surveys in four countries: Cambodia (1,212 participants), Kenya (1,099 participants), Colombia (1,415 participants), and Moldova (906 participants), to examine the effects of childhood verbal abuse on selected health outcomes, including mental distress, self-harm, drug use, and problems with the alcohol.
The study then estimated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost (the total number of years of healthy life lost due to people dying prematurely or living with a disability caused by a common disease or health problem in the community). ) due to attributed health outcomes. to child verbal abuse to estimate its economic burden.
These DALY losses were then converted into monetary value, assuming that one DALY was equal to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.
The average economic burden of child verbal abuse across the four countries was found to be 0.34% of GDP. When this figure was applied to global GDP, it was equivalent to approximately $300 billion each year.
Meanwhile, DALY losses from outcomes attributed to childhood verbal abuse were significantly greater than corresponding estimates for breast cancer and liver cancer in all four countries studied, and similar to disability-adjusted life years lost to illnesses. hypertensive heart disease.
Conference chair Professor Peter Fonagy (UCL Psychology and Language Sciences) said: “Verbal abuse of children by adults is very common, but it is one of the most important modifiable causes of health disorders. mental for life.
“Tackling it gives us a powerful lever to prevent mental health disorders and their enormous cost to both the UK and the global economy.
“I am delighted that, with the Words Matter charity, we finally have an organization that focuses on this issue. Raising greater awareness of child verbal abuse has the potential to dramatically reduce the economic and psychological burden of psychiatric disorders.”
Previous research by experts from UCL and Wingate University* found that child verbal abuse can be as harmful as other forms of abuse and have significant adverse impacts on children’s mental and physical health and development, leading to anxiety, depression, eating disorders and self-destruction. harm, substance abuse and even suicide.
Professor Xiangming Fang said: “The economic burden of child verbal abuse by adults that we have quantified clearly highlights the shocking hidden cost of harm it causes to children throughout their lives. However, it is likely to be a considerable underestimation given the impact of child verbal abuse on several outcomes, including health care utilization costs and legal system expenditures, which were not included in the analysis due to lack of data availability.
“There is clearly a significant opportunity for economic growth in ending child verbal abuse, and by revealing these figures, we hope that this form of child maltreatment receives the attention it deserves. Vital is now carrying out further research and dedicating funds and resources to prevent so the cost to society can be reduced”.
Jessica Bondy, founder of Words Matter, said: “For too long, child verbal abuse by adults has gone unnoticed, but it is all around us. We hope this conference will help put the issue firmly on the map and drive action. Ending child verbal abuse is possible with greater awareness, understanding and collaboration around the world to devise solutions. We must act now, given the lifelong impact on children’s physical and mental health and well-being and the cost “monumental for society. Lift children up, not tear them down, and create a better future for children.”
Tim Loughton MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children and former Children’s Minister, said: “By convening this conference, the work of Words Matter and its expert advisers is filling a gap in the understanding of the harms that can be inflicted on children from the way adults communicate with them and prevention routes. While we are all very familiar with the damage caused to children as a result of physical violence, verbal abuse is more insidious and widespread and affects many people whose mental health has already been deeply affected due to the Covid pandemic.
“We all have a duty to treat children with respect and that includes the words and language we use with them. This conference highlights how much words really matter and how, if misused, they can have lasting implications for children and our economy. “.
Former Health Minister and Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation and current Opposition Leader, Lord Philip Hunt of Kings Heath, said: “All children deserve to grow up happy and healthy, but millions are suffering verbal abuse from adults who It has been hidden for too long in the shadows. Thanks to the work of Words Matter, we now know that this is not only impacting children’s mental health and development but also, as this new study shows, taking a huge toll on society as a whole. We all want to have children “To develop armed with the tools to lead a safe and productive adult life, and the words they hear from adults are very important in developing self-esteem and confidence. “By shedding light on this abuse, lives can and will be changed.”
Limitations of the study
The $300 billion is likely a significant underestimate given the impact of child verbal abuse on several outcomes, including health care utilization costs and legal system expenditures, which were not included in the analysis due to lack of data. data availability.
Additionally, costs associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer were not taken into account.
Multiple risk factors can contribute to the onset of any disease. When a disease is attributed to these factors, the maximum attribution is capped at 100%. However, if multiple risk factors are involved and overlap, the sum of DALY estimates for all risk factors may exceed 100%. Failure to fully account for these intercorrelations could lead to an overestimation of the numbers.
The field lacks reliable longitudinal data to evaluate the long-term repercussions of childhood verbal abuse.
The absence of high-quality cohort studies that take a life-course perspective in estimating economic data may lead to a substantial underestimation of the economic impact of child verbal abuse.
Prioritizing the collection of longitudinal data on the consequences of child verbal abuse should be the primary focus of future efforts.