Five years ago there was a study that found kids who experienced emotional abuse (don't think there's much of a line there between emotional neglect and abuse) have the same kinds of mental health struggles as kids who are physically or sexually traumatized. So approached from the lens of how kids are affected, I think the answer is that it is trauma; and I think it makes sense from a developmental perspective because kids depend on their parents for survival.

Personally, I've more recently been acknowledging the emotional neglect from my childhood, and I would distinguish what I experienced from emotional abuse in this way: my parents did not insult me or put me down or more generally try to tear me apart. I have always known they loved me and believed in me and my abilities, despite their epic failures related to my CSA. They were good and supportive parents in a lot of practical ways, and I would not be where I am education and career-wise if not for them.

But the emotional neglect was that nobody could ever tell the truth or talk about what was really going on or what they wanted, or address anything in a straight way, and that continues to this day where family communication feels like everyone's speaking in some freakin' code. And the effect on me was to feel silenced and to be silenced even if this wasn't deliberate on their part, but I have an understanding that it was important to the survival of my family that I be silent about what was going on. And it frustrates me that I can't be honest with my family of origin. But I can figure out how to have relationships with other people where I can tell the truth and have the kind of intimacy I've always wanted. It has been a long road getting here though.

Report on the study:
Childhood Psychological Abuse as Harmful as Sexual or Physical Abuse