Most lack self-esteem.
Emotional abuse is usually more psychologically damaging than physical abuse.
Abuse tends to get worse without intervention from an extended family member or someone outside the family who glimpses through the veil of pretense. Witnessing abuse makes a child 10 times more likely to become either an abuser or a victim of abuse. As adults they are at increased risk of alcoholism, criminality, mental health problems, poverty. Why We Hurt the Ones We Love Attachment relationships serve as mirrors of the inner self . We learn how valuable and worthy of love we are through interactions with loved ones.