Pretoria - South African children younger than 17 are suffering from mental illness and neglect, mostly attributed to exposure to domestic violence and overprotection.
According to the South African Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop), the problem has become one of the most hazardous for children and could end up affecting their sense of self.
Due to mental illness children will probably have scars that will limit their chances of a fulfilling and functional adult life, the organisation said.
Sasop said survivors of domestic violence might take longer to recover from emotional abuse than from physical abuse.
Spokesperson Dr Eugene Allers said: “It relates to the development of self-esteem, obviously that is developed through achievement or praise for what is achieved.”
He said children needed to be rewarded for achievements as a way to boost their self-esteem.
“When children are neglected or overprotected they focus on avoiding abuse or dealing with the anxiety that goes with the abuse instead of dealing with finding themselves and achieving, and that makes them have poor self-esteem and poor sense of self,” he said.
Allers said the effect on children’s future mental health was substantial, with a third of all psychiatric disorders originating before the age of 14 and half before 18.
He said the reason emotional abuse received less attention and awareness was because physical and sexual abuse was usually easy to define. Emotional was difficult because it was a much more abstract concept.
“Emotional abuse is often ill-defined and not clearly defined and therefore people also avoid speaking about it,” Allers said.
He said several studies had proved that when you emotionally abuse a child it had more adverse effects in terms of long-term psychological or psychic problems than even physical or sexual abuse.
Allers said the nation could prevent this form of abuse through knowledge.
“We must be aware of it (because) once people are aware that emotional abuse is so detrimental we will have the policy and ways of dealing with it through the health systems, social systems and the legal systems, where patients and people can be helped to stop abuse and also be taken to task and justice if it is severe,” he said.
Allers advised parents that they were responsible for facilitating the development of their children into normal adults.
“The most important thing for parents to do is to connect with their children and sometimes have family dinner together, and just spend time together,” he said.
Pretoria News