Growing up, Lena’s home was a place of high stakes and low warmth. Her mother, driven by her own unresolved trauma, used "harsh parenting" as a tool for control. Lena remembered the sudden, sharp slaps to her face—a form of that left no permanent physical marks but created a deep-seated negativity bias . By 2021, research in the field was highlighting how such childhood maltreatment alters an adult’s ability to recognize facial expressions, often leading them to misinterpret neutral faces as hostile or aversive. The Entertainment Filter
Maternal maltreatment encompasses various forms of abuse, including physical, emotional, and psychological abuse. Facial abuse, a subset of maternal maltreatment, refers to the intentional infliction of harm or injury to a child's face, which can result in physical and emotional trauma. facialabuse facial abuse maternal maltreatm 2021
Data from the for the federal fiscal year 2021 indicated a total of approximately 600,000 victims of child maltreatment. Growing up, Lena’s home was a place of
Research has identified several risk factors for maternal maltreatment, including: By 2021, research in the field was highlighting