6 Different Types of Abuse

Emotional abuse often coexists with other forms of abuse, and it is the most difficult to identify. Many of its potential consequences, such as learning and speech problems and delays in physical development, can also occur in children who are not being emotionally abused.

Four types of maltreatment are generally recognized: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse (psychologic abuse), and neglect.

• Physical. This is the type of abuse that many people think of when they hear the word ‘abuse.
• Sexual.
• Verbal/Emotional.
• Mental/Psychological.
• Financial/Economic.
• Cultural/Identity.

The list of congeni- tal and acquired bleeding disorders that can mimic abuse is extensive and includes dis- orders of fibrinogen, vitamin K deficiency, thrombocytopenia, leukemia, aplastic ane- mia, disorders of platelet function, dissem- inated intravascular coagulation, and liver disease [19].

While there are a variety of medical conditions that can be mistaken for child abuse, congenital cutaneous variants, bone fragility, and coagulation disorders are the most common. This report explores two of these broad categories of child abuse mimics: cutaneous lesions and bleeding disorders.

A national WebMD survey found that parents rate school and friends as the biggest sources of stress in their kids’ lives. The survey also found that 72% of children have negative behaviors linked to stress, and 62% have physical symptoms linked to it, such as headaches and stomachaches.

The list of congenital and acquired bleeding disorders that can mimic abuse is extensive and includes disorders of fibrinogen, vitamin K deficiency, thrombocytopenia, leukemia, aplastic anemia, disorders of platelet function, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and liver disease [19].