Abandoned child syndrome

Abandoned child syndrome

Abandoned child syndrome is a behavioral or psychological condition that results from the loss of one or both parents. Abandonment may be physical (the parent is not present in the child's life) or emotional (the parent withholds affection, nurturing, or stimulation). Many countries, like Russia and China, have an alarmingly high rate of physically abandoned children. A 1998 Human Rights Watch committee report found that more than 100,000 children per year were abandoned in Russia. Parents leave their children for many reasons, including trouble with the law, financial insecurity, the child is mentally or physically challenged, and sometimes population control policies. Involuntary loss of a parent, such as through divorce or death, can also create abandonment issues.

Parents who leave their children, whether with or without good reason, can cause irreversible psychological damage to the child. [ [http://www.hrw.org/children/abandoned.htm "Orphans and Abandoned Children"] . Human Rights Watch.] Abandoned children may also often suffer physical damage from neglect, malnutrition, starvation, and abuse. Substantial research indicates that contact with adults of both sexes encourages a child's balanced development. [Ward, Peggie. [http://www.divorcesource.com/NH/ARTICLES/ward1.html "Family Wars: The Alienation of Children"] . DivorceSource.]

Abandoned Child Syndrome is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition). [ [http://www.psyweb.com/Mdisord/DSM_IV/jsp/dsmab.jsp "DSM-IV Diagnoses and Codes"] . PSYweb Mental Health Site.]

ymptoms

Symptoms may be physical and/or mental, and may extend into adulthood and perhaps throughout a person's life.

* Alienation from the environment - withdrawal from social activities, resistance towards others.

* Guilt - the child believes that he/she did something wrong that caused the abandonment (often associated with depression) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt]

* Fear and uncertainty - clinginess, insecurities Myers, Linda Joy (2005). [http://www.memoriesandmemoirs.com/connecting.html "Connecting the Past and the Present: Healing Abandonment and Abuse through Awareness"] .]

* Sleep and eating disorders - malnutrition, starvation, disturbed sleep, nightmares

* Physical ailments - fatigue, depression, lack of energy and creativity, anger, grief

Recovery

For children, creative play is a non-threatening way to work through stressful and traumatic situations. Creative play gives children an outlet to make something "better" and helps them overcome feelings of powerlessness. [Spaide, Deborah (2001). [http://www.soulrise.com/common/stress.htm "Stress and Fear in Children"] . "Soulrise".]

For adults, writing about the experience (journaling, unsent letters, putting their feelings into words) can often be helpful.

Notes

ee also

Henley, Arthur. "The abandoned child." "Deviancy and the family". Ed. Clifton D. Bryant and J. Gipson Wells. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis, 1973. 199-208.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Child abandonment — is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one s offspring with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting them. Causes include many social and cultural factors as well as mental illness. An abandoned child is called a… …   Wikipedia

  • Child protection — For other uses, see Child protection (disambiguation). Caring for children At home Parents · Extended family …   Wikipedia

  • syndrome — The aggregate of symptoms and signs associated with any morbid process, and constituting together the picture of the disease. SEE ALSO: disease. [G. s., a running together, tumultuous concourse; (in med.) a concurrence of symptoms, fr. syn,… …   Medical dictionary

  • Rett syndrome — Classification and external resources ICD 10 F84.2 ICD 9 330.8 …   Wikipedia

  • One-child policy — Government sign in Tang Shan: For a prosperous, powerful nation and a happy family, please practice family planning. The one child policy (simplified Chinese: 计划生育政策; traditional Chinese: 計劃生育政策; pinyin: jìhuà shēngyù zhèngcè; literally policy of …   Wikipedia

  • Feral child — A feral child (feral, wild, or undomesticated) is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, and has no (or little) experience of human care, loving or social behavior, and, crucially, of human language.… …   Wikipedia

  • Donohue syndrome — Classification and external resources insulin receptor OMIM 246200 …   Wikipedia

  • Warkany syndrome — Two distinct congenital syndromes were named after Joseph Warkany, an Austrian American geneticist and pediatrician, 1902 1992. Contents 1 Warkany syndrome 1 2 Warkany syndrome 2 (trisomy 8) 3 References …   Wikipedia

  • Category:Childhood psychiatric disorders — This category reflects the organization of International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision. Generally, diseases outlined within the ICD 10 codes F80 F98 should be included in this category.… …   Wikipedia

  • Adoption — For other uses, see Adoption (disambiguation). Sister Irene of New York Foundling Hospital with children. Sister Irene is among the pioneers of modern adoption, establishing a system to board out children rather than institutionalize them.… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”