How does being emotionally negelcted and rejected by a mother affect a child in their adult years?

Question

I am writing a paper about the psychological affects of a child having a mother who is stern, rejecting, emotionally-unavailable, unaffectionate and verbally abusive. How would this affect a child in their adult years?

This is the example I was given...

A young girl is being raised by a young and depressed mother who is unhappy in her relationship with her spouse... she is generally unhappy, complains of headaches, has little to no patience for her children... doesn't hug her daughter, is rejecting, insensitive, emotionally-unavailable and not affectionate... how would this affect the female child as an adult?

Any input appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

ALTHOUGH it is often classed as 'mental illness', clinical depression often has as many physical symptoms as mental. The feelings or emotions that are depression symptoms actually begin to cause the physical effects. How this happens is a vital part of understanding depression and the symptoms that come with it.

If you are depressed at the moment some of the following symptoms may sound familiar:


You feel miserable and sad.
You feel exhausted a lot of the time with no energy .
You feel as if even the smallest tasks are sometimes impossible.
You seldom enjoy the things that you used to enjoy-you may be off sex or food or may 'comfort eat' to excess.
You feel very anxious sometimes.

You don't want to see people or are scared to be left alone. Social activity may feel hard or impossible.

You find it difficult to think clearly.

You feel like a failure and/or feel guilty a lot of the time.

You feel a burden to others.

You sometimes feel that life isn't worth living.

You can see no future. There is a loss of hope. You feel all you've ever done is make mistakes and that's all that you ever will do.
You feel irritable or angry more than usual.

You feel you have no confidence.

You spend a lot of time thinking about what has gone wrong, what will go wrong or what is wrong about yourself as a person. You may also feel guilty sometimes about being critical of others (or even thinking critically about them).
You feel that life is unfair.

You have difficulty sleeping or wake up very early in the morning and can't sleep again. You seem to dream all night long and sometimes have disturbing dreams.

You feel that life has/is 'passing you by.'

You may have physical aches and pains which appear to have no physical cause, such as back pain.

It's this wealth of depression symptoms, and the broad scope that confuses many people as to what depression actually is. Explanations rarely cover all the symptoms, and everybody's experience is different.

Answer 2

Emotionally Unavailable Mothers

Answer 3

It could effect the child and turn her into a woman similar to her mother, the variations depend on the inner strength of the child and what she's learned from the treatment . If by change she abhorred the treatment of her so badly that she vowed never to be that type of person. Then I suggest she would be fairly well adjusted with maybe minimal outward signs that she had ever experienced it. On the other hand she could turn into a self pitying person who is some one , that should never have children of her own, and tends to look for attention in being sick, expecting everyone to cow tow to her and a very lonely old person years down the road.

Answer 4

I think behavior is learned and we have to fight to overcome the bad things that were learned. An adult child of this mother may well overcome the same traits, but I think those traits would be imprinted on the adult. I think the child may have more difficulty relating or trusting women. May have more of a self esteem issue, because the child always thinks it's their fault. They may be impatient, but if they realize what is happening in their situation they can compensate for it.
Some people just don't realize they are behaving like their parents and continue the same style of parenting.

Answer 5

This type of treatment by a mother of her daughter can result in many different mental disorders of varying degrees, according to the mental strength of the individual. The first disorder that comes to mind is Borderline Personality Disorder. It is believed that women who suffered neglect, abandonment, or some kind of abuse as a child, whether that abuse was verbal, emotional, sexual or otherwise are the ones that develop this Cluster B Personality Disorder.

Symptoms would include:

Make frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.

Have a pattern of difficult relationships caused by alternating between extremes of intense admiration and hatred of others.

Have an unstable self-image or be unsure of his or her own identity.

Act impulsively in ways that are self-damaging, such as extravagant spending, frequent and unprotected sex with many partners, substance abuse, binge eating, or reckless driving.

Have recurring suicidal thoughts, make repeated suicide attempts, or cause self-injury through mutilation, such as cutting or burning himself or herself.

Have frequent emotional overreactions or intense mood swings, including feeling depressed, irritable, or anxious.

Have long-term feelings of emptiness.

Have inappropriate, fierce anger or problems controlling anger. The person may often display temper tantrums or get into physical fights.

Have temporary episodes of feeling suspicious of others without reason (paranoia) or losing a sense of reality.

Not everyone who has five or more of these symptoms is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. For a person to be diagnosed with any personality disorder, the symptoms must be severe and must go on long enough to cause significant emotional distress or problems functioning in relationships or at work. (WebMD Mental Health Section)

Answer 6

the child when she grows up will be craving for love and attention. the child will have a hard time expressing how she feels for she grew up in an environment that lacks affection. she will have a hard time trusting people for she will associate them with her mom. the child in her adulthood will develop depression and her emotional state will be unstable.

Answer 7

she could either turn out the same way or smother the child completely making up for her mother's mistakes sometimes ther's a in between