Which term means purposeful mistreatment causing physical, mental, or emotional pain or injury?

• A. Abandonment
• B. Accidents
• C. Accountable
• D. Abuse

Answer: (D)

Purposeful mistreatment causing physical, mental, or emotional pain or injury is abuse. In caregiving, abuse means intentional harm or harm-causing actions toward a person, which can be physical (hitting), emotional (humiliation, intimidation), or neglect that results in injury or distress. This is why it’s the correct term here—because it specifically denotes intentional harm.

Abandonment means leaving someone without necessary care, which is not about intentional harm in the moment. Accidents are unintentional events that cause injury, not purposeful harm. Being accountable refers to taking responsibility for one's actions, not to a type of mistreatment.