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Mental cruelty: The definition should include psycholgical abuse. According to Patricia Evans's book The Verablly Abusive Relationship, verabal abuse, a form of mental cruelty, is an issue of control, a means of holding power over another. This abuse may be covert, constant, controlling, and what Bach and Deutsch (1980) call "crazymaking"(p.19).
Th effects of verbal abuse are qualitative. That is, they cannot be seen like the effects of physical abuse. There are no physical signs of inury, no bruises, black eyes, or broken bones. The intensity of anguish which the victim suffers determines the extent of the injury. The quality of the experience of the victim defines the degree of abuse(p.19).