Pop Quizzes > Can You Spot the Red Flags of Emotional Abuse?
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Can You Spot the Red Flags of Emotional Abuse?

10 Questions
2 Minutes

Emotional abuse can be difficult to detect, involving the gradual introduction of judgment, control, shaming, threats, isolation, humiliation, and other elements. Test your understanding of these important signals.

1. Closely monitoring a partner’s whereabouts and social plans shows interest and care.
2. Most loving relationships contain a level of judgment and criticism.
3. The feeling of “walking on eggshells” around a partner is a common sign of an abusive relationship.
4. Emotional abuse typically escalates slowly and gradually.
5. Sudden, intense periods of affection (love-bombing), followed by periods of mistreatment, can be part of an abusive cycle.
6. It’s hard when someone dismisses their partner’s needs or feelings, but if there’s a reason for it, like the person had a bad day, it’s okay.
7. Repeatedly mocking a partner’s interests, identity, or vulnerabilities can be an abusive tactic to gain power.
8. Explosive or unpredictable anger in relationships is concerning.
9. Becoming isolated from family and friends is a normal part of long-term relationships.
10. Emotional abuse only happens in romantic relationships. It can’t occur in friendships, families, or the workplace.
Psychology Today's online self-tests are intended for informational purposes only and are not diagnostic tools. Psychology Today does not capture or store personally identifiable information, and your identity cannot be determined from your responses. Aggregated self-test responses are stored to improve the tests and provide performance comparisons. Psychology Today uses third party cookies such as Google Analytics to collect visitor data on this page without sharing any personal data, ensuring your identity cannot be determined from your visit. There are no advertising partners included on these self-test pages. If you wish to remove cookies from this site or opt out of data sharing, please click 'Do not share or sell my personal information' below. For a reliable medical diagnosis, please consult a professional.

Sources

Jacobson, N. and Gottman, J. Emotional Abuse Questionnaire (EAQ).

Shepard, M., and Campbell, J. The Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI).

Vahid, M., et al. Emotional Abuse Questionnaire (EAQ).

Emotional Abuse. Psychology Today. 

Emotional Abuse: Recognizing the Signs. Lea Lis, MD. Psychology Today.

20 Signs of a Controlling Partner. Andrea Bonior, Ph.D. Psychology Today.

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