Childhood emotional neglect, which is likely to be underreported in some settings, is still reported by about 18% of the adult population. Children from any background can experience emotional abuse/neglect, although the prevalence rates may be higher in certain groups.
Emotional Neglect Statistics
One meta-study suggests more than 18% of children suffer from emotional neglect, with a prevalence of 184 out of 1000 cases. Emotional neglect in childhood leads to higher risk of anxiety disorders in adolescence and adulthood.
Child emotional neglect is a form of psychological maltreatment. It is also one of the most prevalent types of childhood abuse. What is this? Despite the lack of overt traumatic events, experiencing emotional neglect as a child can be just as damaging as abuse.
Parents may have trouble understanding their children's needs for love, affection, closeness, and support, or they may feel too overwhelmed or powerless to meet these needs on a consistent basis. Neglectful parents usually come from families in which, as children, they were ignored or neglected by their parents.
Examples of emotional neglect may include: lack of emotional support during difficult times or illness. withholding or not showing affection, even when requested. exposure to domestic violence and other types of abuse.
A child's basic needs, such as food, clothing or shelter, are not met or they aren't properly supervised or kept safe. A parent doesn't ensure their child is given an education. A child doesn't get the nurture and stimulation they need. This could be through ignoring, humiliating, intimidating or isolating them.
In the emotionally neglectful family, the HSP learns they are overly emotional. They don't know that their emotions are personal expressions of who they are. Instead, they learn that they are different, damaged, weak, and wrong.
If your daughter feels unloved, she may suffer from several emotional problems. Symptoms can include depression, anxiety, self-harm, and more. These feelings are often the result of the way her parents treated her during her childhood.
Some effects of emotional neglect are: Higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders. More frequent negative emotions like anger, guilt, shame, and fear. Higher risk for substance use disorders and addictions.
Childhood emotional neglect can also play a factor in a condition called complex PTSD (CPTSD). Indeed, any ongoing, long-term abuse and neglect can lead to this condition.
A child who has experienced this type of trauma and holds much shame may show us behaviours such as: envy, anger, and anxiety, effects of sadness, depression, depletion, loneliness, isolation and avoidance. They will highlight to us their inadequacy, their powerlessness and at times their own self-disgust.
Emotional Neglect is Complex Trauma
Childhood trauma takes several forms, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and emotional neglect. Emotional neglect is complex trauma that can result in complex post traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).
Chronological age of child: 50% of abused children are younger than 3 years old; 90% of children who die from abuse are younger than 1 year old; firstborn children are most vulnerable. Low self-esteem: Neglectful parents often neglect themselves and see themselves as worthless people.
Is it possible to actually recover from the Emotional Neglect you grew up with? Yes! But it is also true that CEN recovery takes work. And its also true that this work is harder for some than for others.
The least common forms of maltreatment involved physical neglect (9%) and emotional abuse (13%).
Emotionally absent or cold mothers can be unresponsive to their children's needs. They may act distracted and uninterested during interactions, or they could actively reject any attempts of the child to get close. They may continue acting this way with adult children.
Lack of trust
“Children who are not raised in safe, loving, respectful, and consistent environments tend to grow up feeling very unsafe and untrusting,” explains Manly. As a result, they tend to experience challenges trusting themselves and others throughout life.
So it makes sense that unloved daughters may tend to enter relationships with people with NPD or narcissistic traits due to their childhood experiences. Some reasons include: Your need for validation makes them feel powerful. Manipulation, control, and gaslighting feels familiar to you.
Maltreatment can cause victims to feel isolation, fear, and distrust, which can translate into lifelong psychological consequences that can manifest as educational difficulties, low self-esteem, depression, and trouble forming and maintaining relationships.
Having Trauma Splitting, or Structural Dissociation, means we are split into different parts, each with a different personality, feelings, and behaviour. As a result, we feel completely different from moment to moment.
Those needs are Autonomy, Competence and Relatedness: 1) Competence – need to feel like we've done a good job. 2) Autonomy – need to feel like we have control over what we do. Relatedness – need to have meaningful relationships and interactions with other people).
Changes in behavior — such as aggression, anger, hostility or hyperactivity — or changes in school performance. Depression, anxiety or unusual fears, or a sudden loss of self-confidence. Sleep problems and nightmares. An apparent lack of supervision.
Physical neglect is by far the most common type of neglect. In most cases, the parent or caregiver is not providing the child with all of the basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter. In some cases, young children are left without proper supervision for extended periods of time.
The immediate emotional effects of abuse and neglect—isolation, fear, and an inability to trust—can translate into lifelong consequences, including poor mental health and behavioral health outcomes and increased risk for substance use disorder.