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Childhood Emotional Maltreatment ( Cem ) Essay

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Childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) involves abuse and neglect and is typically associated with persistent and extreme denial of a child’s basic emotional needs (Barnett, Manly, & Cicchetti, 1993). CEM is highly prevalent, as demonstrated in both clinical and nonclinical samples, including college students (Egeland, 2009; Scher, Forde, McQuaid, & Stein, 2004; Spinazzola et al., 2014). For instance, CEM is reported by approximately one third of university counseling center clients (Braver, Bumberry, Green, & Rawson, 1992; Wright, Crawford, & Del Castillo, 2009). Research has principally focused on more “objective” forms of childhood maltreatment, such as sexual and physical abuse, leaving CEM—an intrinsic aspect of most if not all forms of childhood maltreatment—being seriously understudied (Egeland, 2009; Hart & Brassard, 1987; Spinazzola et al., 2014; Wright et al., 2009). Accumulating evidence from recent studies, however, points to the serious consequences of CEM (Bernstein, Measelle, Laurent, Musser, & Ablow, 2013; Egeland, 2009; Gibb, Chelminski, & Zimmerman, 2007; Spertus, Yehuda, Wong, Halligan, & Seremetis, 2003; Spinazzola et al., 2014; Yates, 2007). For instance, several studies have demonstrated a relationship between CEM and victimization (Crawford & Wright, 2007; Gobin & Freyd, 2009; Renner & Slack, 2006) as well as dating violence (Wekerle et al., 2009). Yet, few if any studies have addressed the potential significance of the more subtle, but no less

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