Child Abandonment: How it can affect adulthood if there’s no therapy
A child can experience physical neglect, medical neglect, educational neglect and emotional neglect and with that comes a great deal of affects that carry into adulthood when it’s ignored for so long without treatment.
Many Adults are affected by childhood abandonment, and they are far from identifying the root.
According to US Department of Health & Human Services 90.6% of victims are maltreated by one or both parents. Only 3.1 million children received prevention & post-response services. 124,360 children received foster care services. 470,297 victims (74.9%) are neglected.
Some children experience what is called “abandoned child syndrome.” This may take place after the loss of a parent or caregiver. It can also develop due to physical or emotional abandonment by a parent. Symptoms may show as isolation, low self-worth, and unhealthy coping mechanisms like eating issues or addiction
Longterm effects are:
- Depression
- Codependence
- Borderline Personality (BPD)
Parents with Substance Disorders
The increase in the number of children in foster care occurs at the same time as the increase in the percentage of children entering foster care due to parental substance abuse. Anecdotal evidence and expert opinion link this increase to the parallel rise in parental opioid addiction and overdoses. One-third of children entering foster care in 2016 were due at least in part to parental drug abuse — an increase of nearly 50 percent since 2005.
Child neglect, which is often a result of substance abuse, is the leading reason for foster care entry. Child neglect was the finding in 61 percent of child maltreatment cases.
Victim of Abuse
The word abandonment root word is abandon, which means cease to support or look after (someone), desert. There are countless stories of victims of abuse. For example, Chrissy from Western Missouri in the 1980’s was abused by adults (her parents) who she believed should have been her protectors, but they were her abusers. In this video below Chrissy tells a snippet of her story as a victim of abuse.
Child abandonment will have major effects on the mental wellbeing of an adult which originally stems from cultural experiences. All cultures raise their children in many ways and as that child grow into an adult it becomes what is called a cultural norm. One cultural may view abuse and neglect as acceptable whereas another cultural may not agree with. It's truly up to the individual to continue the cycle or break it.
There are many treatment options available but first the one who is suffering has to be willing to want help.
“The fear of abandonment forced me to comply as a child, but I’m not forced to comply anymore. The key people in my life did reject me for telling the truth about my abuse, but I’m not alone. Even if the consequence for telling the truth is rejection from everyone I know, that’s not the same death threat that it was when I was a child. I’m a self-sufficient adult and abandonment no longer means the end of my life.”
― Christina Enevoldsen, The Rescued Soul: The Writing Journey for the Healing of Incest and Family Betrayal
Breaking the Abandonment Cycle
The best way to break the abandonment cycle and release the pattern from childhood is by exploring childhood issues and focus on healing your wounds. Remember, these wounds are deep and often remain hidden, so be patient.
As a parent or guardian, it is a priority to lookup resources to help the child thats in your care to break the cylce to deal with the aftermath of abuse. There are countless resources/treatment options available to help the child before reaching adulthood.
- Developmental Therapy
- Interpersonal therapy
- Cognitive and behavior therapy
Childhood abandonment causes fear as a person grow, but therapy reduces fear control over their responses to the present. Through this process, they will heal from the past. Children who experienced childhood abandonment will walk most of their journey in fear in which caused many roadblocks until someone helps identify the trauma and seek out treatment for healing for their trauma wounds.
Talking to your child about the benefits of therapy will make the process a little easier. Therapy does not work one way; it is a joint effort. If a legal guardian has an opportunity to help shape and develop a child, there is work to be done on all ends. 3.1 million children received prevention & post-response services. Your child’s healthcare provider will check for signs of abuse and/or neglect. If your child has emotional, developmental, and/or behavioral problems, ask your child’s healthcare provider for a referral to a mental health specialist for an evaluation.