Childhood emotional neglect: what it is, causes, consequences and how to treat it

All people have emotional needs, especially children, who are in full psychological and emotional development. In fact, in the childhood stage is where the foundations of a balanced mental health are laid. For this reason, when caregivers, fathers or mothers do not respond assertively to the emotional demands of infants, the long-term consequences can be very harmful.

In this Psychology-online article we explain what is emotional neglect, causes consequences and how to treat it, as being emotionally abandoned can be a devastating experience for the infant.

Index

1. What is childhood emotional neglect?
2. Causes of childhood emotional neglect
3. What are the consequences of child emotional neglect
4. How to Diagnose Childhood Emotional Neglect
5. How to Treat Childhood Emotional Neglect

Child emotional neglect is understood as the lack of attention that a boy or girl suffers in the face of her emotional needs. This condition can manifest itself in different ways. For example, when fathers and mothers allow children to consume alcohol and drugs, we speak of child neglect, as it is in the presence of inappropriate independence for healthy development and balanced.

Another example of this would be when a child comments to his caregivers that he is sad because they changed his teacher and the adults who listen minimize or ignore her feelings. Therefore, we could define child neglect as a total lack of care and responsibility to provide adequate protection to children at any age.

Consequences of Childhood Emotional Neglect

This type of neglect can have a strong negative impact on the infant and cause cognitive, academic performance, emotional and even health problems. On the other hand, it is not necessarily a emotional abuse, but it does understand the omission and neglect in a key area of ​​people's emotional development.

Adults who emotionally neglect infants may be experiencing some personal circumstance that causes their child neglect. Here are some:

• They have low self-esteem and little self love.
• are going through bouts of anxiety and depression.
• Have been victims of abuse child or psychological and/or physical abuse.
• They lack the necessary attitudes to raise their children.
• suffer from addictions, imprisonment or illnesses that do not allow them to take care of their children.

Emotional neglect is a type of psychological abuse and child abuse. Although in these cases there are no visible physical events such as bruises or scratches, it does leave very damaging emotional traces.

Some consequences of emotional neglectchildish are:

• delay in cognitive development and emotional.
• Affectation before environmental stimuli, which leads to insensitivity and lack of empathy.
• Possibility of developing psychiatric disorders during puberty.
• Risk of future child neglect with their descendants.
• Lack of a clear language to convey their feelings.
• Low self-esteem and difficulty maintaining relationships.
• Dissociative tendencies and difficulty regulating one's emotions.
• Presence of somatic complaints, such as headache, difficulty sleeping, dizziness, among others.

Childhood emotional neglect is very difficult to diagnose, since, as we already mentioned, there are no apparent physical signs. Nevertheless, Some of the warning signs are usually:

• In the case of babies, they tend to have delayed growth.
• Preschoolers are very closed off and don't ask for help when they feel emotionally down.
• The boys and girls turn to tantrums and disruptive behaviors.
• At school age they have many difficulties in relating to other classmates and their self-esteem is very low.
• In adulthood they can develop patterns of abusive or neglectful relationships, as well as recurrent mood disorders.

In any case, the diagnosis and the protocol to follow in cases of child emotional neglect must be given by a mental health professional.

To treat childhood emotional neglect and its consequences, it is essential to apply actions to develop emotional intelligence, as well as regulate individual skills. Next, we show you the most effective strategies for its treatment:

• Family therapy: it is about the family working together to heal their traumas and become a healthier system. This type of therapy offers parents the techniques to heal their own wounds and to become the parents they need to be.
• individual therapy: Adults can contact a therapist to treat childhood emotional neglect. Similarly, this mental health professional can help the infant deal with her own feelings and learn to communicate more assertively.
• Support groups: support groups serve as a communication channel and help reduce levels of loneliness to recognize and strengthen feelings.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Childhood emotional neglect: what it is, causes, consequences and how to treat it, we recommend that you enter our category of Emotional and behavioral disorders.

• Champagne FA. Epigenetic mechanisms and the transgenerational effects of maternal care. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. Published online June 2008: 386-397. doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2008.03.003
• MJ Lawler, E.B. Talbot, in Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (Second Edition), 2012