DIGEST - Volume 11, Issue 3-FULL ISSUE

2 TPC Digest | TPC Digest U nfortunately, children can experience severe emotional or psychological harm. Psychological maltreatment (PM) is defined as one or more harmful emotional experiences that cause long- and short-term physical and mental health complications. Sadly, there is no common language that links together children’s descriptions of PM and how adults may be ab le to help. R esearchers have found professionals helping children with PM experiences struggle to know when and how to report PM. Additionally, reporting PM can be difficult, as each state defines PM differently and subsequently addresses PM legally in varied ways. As a result, PM is often underreported or misunderstood until adults who have experienced PM are able to fully understand their childhoods. Currently, researchers are still determining how PM may exist for children by itself or paired with other forms of abuse or neglect. In this article, we introduce the Psychological Maltreatment Inventory (PMI) as the first assessment tool to help identify and standardize a definition of PM. The PMI was designed to help all children report when and how often they may experience PM. We explored how PM may exist within different groups, the rates of PM for children with a current child maltreatment case, how PM interacts with other types of abuse and neglect, and the relationship between PM experiences and general trauma symptoms. Finally, we also found children who experience higher rates of PM also have a greater likelihood of suicidal ideation. We believe the PMI can be a helpful tool and first step for identifying how children may experience PM. Detecting PM early on may help mental health providers implement services quicker and reduce or prevent adverse effects of PM later in adulthood. Alison M. Boughn , PhD, NCC, LIMHP (NE), LMHC (IA), LPC-MH (SD), ATR-BC, QMHP, TF-CBT, is an assistant professor and counseling department chair at Wayne State College. Daniel A. DeCino , PhD, NCC, LPC, is an assistant professor and Interim Program Coordinator at the University of South Dakota. Correspondence may be addressed to Alison M. Boughn, Wayne State College, 1111 Main Street, Wayne, NE 68787, albough1@wsc.edu . Alison M. Boughn, Daniel A. DeCino Development of the Psychological Maltreatment Inventory