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PSYCHOLOGICAL
PROBLEMS that children who are/were victims of parental abduction
battle with every day:
- - Grief
and rage
- - Extreme
fright
- - Mistrust
- - Inability
to form intimate relationships
- - Constant
anxiety
- - Guilt
for not stopping the abduction
- - Guilt
for loving the abductor
- - Fear
of abandonment
- - Feeling
responsible for the abduction
- - Cognitive
or language problems
- - Developmental
delays
- - Stress
related illness
- - Depression
BEHAVIORAL
PROBLEMS suffered by abducted children:
- - Bedwetting
- - Interrupted
sleep
- - Tantrums
- - Clinging
behavior
- - Thumbsucking
- - Fear
of windows and doors
OTHER CONSEQUENCES
suffered by children while they are abducted:
- - Inadequate
schooling
- - Poor
nutrition
- - Unstable
lifestyle
- - Isolation
- - Loneliness
- - Lack
of supervision
- - Neglect
- - Inadequate
Guardianship
In addition,
children may experience:
- - Rejection
of the offending parent
- - Anger
at the searching parent for not finding them sooner
- - Difficulty
re-entering the family upon return, especially if a step-parent
or
- new
children are present
- - Being
emotionally caught in on-going battles between parents (and,
sometimes, courts) upon recovery
- - Wanting
to return to the abducting parent after re-entry because of the
excitement of "life on the run" (including not going
to school, "playing cops and robbers," etc.) or because
of loyalty or a greater bond with the offender.
- - The
feeling of being a financial burden to the parent who recovers
(some parents have spent more than $100,000. to recover a child,
creating severe financial crisis for the family).
| In
addition to the guilt and the feeling of powerlessness experienced
by the child following the breaking up of his family, the abducted
child finds himself suddenly cut off from a loving and stable
environment, his school setting, his/her friends, his/her routine
and his/her leisure activities. Most times these
children are not in school, they are forced to change their identity,
live in hiding, isolated from other children, in fear of the
outside world. And... these are the better case scenarious. |
| The
child has no avenue to confide his/her sorrow and his/her anguish.
He/she is afraid, alone and isolated. He/she misses the other
parent and at the same time, cannot understand why the latter
does not make the effort to retrieve him/her. |
| The
abducting parent secures the child's silence through terror,
submission, intimidation and lying. The child may be asked to
lie about his origins and his identity or not to speak of the
other parent any more. |
center
| The
list of injuries and psychological scars suffered by many abducted
children clearly illustrates their hostage situation: |
ADDITIONAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS THE ABDUCTED CHILD WILL SUFFER FROM:
- Malnutrition
- Lack
of hygiene and cleanliness
- Negligence
- Unattended
to medical condition or concerns
- Prolonged
abandonment (even very young children)
- Brutality
and physical violence Ü punishments
- Sexual
abuse
- Withdrawal
from the school system
- Unsanitary
accommodations (shabby hotels, slums, cars, old trailersÉ.)
- Inadequate
clothing, according to seasons
- Use of
alcohol and/or drugs by the parent and/or his circle of friends
- Isolation
from his social setting (forbidden to contact people or
children
of the neighborhood)
- Change
of identity,of names
- Frequent
change of residence
The
child is lied to by the abducting parent and caused mental cruelty:
- The other
parent has abandoned him and wants to start a new life without
him
- The other
parent is in prison
- The other
parent is dead
- The other
parent does not love him anymore
- The other
parent knows where the child is and does not care to call
or come
to get the child
Sources
include:
Child Find
of America, Inc.
The Missing
ChildrenÍs Network
Please
view missing children
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