How can emotional abuse be so harmful and yet so difficult to identify?

Emotional or psychological abuse harms the child's spirit.Rather than striking a child with fists,it is akin to hitting a child with "words or actions." Emotional or psychological abuse can include behaviors such as belittling,humiliating,shaming,terrorizing,or rejecting children.Emotional or psychological abuse can potentially be even more harmful than physical abuse due to its long-lasting effects.Differentiating between children who have been emotionally abused and children with emotional disturbances is a difficult task.There are a number of reasons why emotional abuse is the most difficult form of child abuse to identify.One reason is that the manifestations of emotional abuse,such as learning problems,speech disorders,and delays in physical development,are also present in children who have not suffered from psychological abuse.These effects might not become apparent until later in the child's maturation.Emotional abuse may also function as a secondary type of abuse after sexual or physical abuse has occurred.