Lack of a Parental figure and its Psychological effects on Personality

 

A child needs its parents like it needs oxygen to survive. Growing up our parents have a major influence on our lives and they greatly sway our likes and dislikes. They guide us to overcome obstacles and problems in life since infancy and shape our personalities, and thus us into who we are.

Having been a huge part of our life, it is almost impossible to imagine our journey of growth without them or how different we would grow up to be, had we not had their support under difficult circumstances, or through life in general. The care of a parent is considered a vital factor that helps us foster cognitive and non-cognitive abilities. The involvement of a parental figure encourages children to meet their goals and achieve their objectives. It helps inculcate good morals and behaviours depending on the way the parent behaves and the nature of the parent-child relationship. 

The loss or lack of a parental figure in the child’s life impacts their development greatly. It hinders their growth in every aspect - social, mental, cognitive, and physical. Considering this, we can infer that parental absence has significantly adverse impacts on the child’s life outcomes. The lack of an authority figure in a household puts a lot of strain on the growing child. They must take up responsibilities at a very young age. Both, the mother and the father, i.e. a male and the female parental figure is essential to one’s wholesome development, and lack of either or both decreases the chances for the same. It drains the child emotionally since they are forced to take up an overwhelming burden of responsibilities. This also leads them to be overly independent at an early stage. It takes a massive toll on their mental health - being the sole caretakers of themselves and at times, even their younger siblings.

There are different behavioral repercussions faced when there is the loss of a maternal or paternal figure during an individual’s developing years. This makes children more likely to deviate from the social norms of society as opposed to one with an authoritative figure to put them in line with the accepted behaviours of society. We find significant evidence that a father's absence makes it more likely for teenagers to engage in risky behaviors like smoking, having children at a young age, or indulging in delinquency in general. These effects on socio-emotional development continue even during adolescence. The effects of the lack of a paternal figure cause strong and persistent destructive impacts on the thought process of an individual as well as their social behaviors and backgrounds which persist to remain even through adulthood.

On the other hand, research claims that a child who experiences separation from his/her mother early in life may experience more instability and chaos in aspects of the home environment (Aisa, Tordera & Ramirez, 2008). Many socio-emotional behaviours are affected due to detachment or lack of a maternal figure. It may also result in impulsivity and elevated aggressive behaviors while growing up or in the adolescent years.

Children who experience parental deprivation exhibit signs of extreme stress because of inconsistent parenting, along with frequent and severe shifts in mood and responses, which act as precursors to early anxiety in children. They often fail to set boundaries and have extreme “people-pleasing” tendencies due to their low self-esteem. They have a tendency to draw their self-worth from the approval of others. The absence of a parental figure leads to a child's needs not being catered to, making them feel as if those needs are not important or valid.

Child neglect has extreme effects on the developmental and cognitive abilities of children. According to a study, the overall prevalence of depression among orphans was an average of  24.1%, which was slightly higher in females (27.2%) than in males (21.24%) (Gemechu Shiferaw, Lemi Bacha, Dereje Tsegaye, 2018). There must be the presence of a constant and stable environment in a household to completely allow the effective development of an individual. There is a need for a mother and a father or any authority figure for that matter, in a child’s life while growing up so one can have someone to guide them and help them along their way to adulthood. Although there is an importance of both, it has often been proven that the presence of even one loving and caring parent helps the child develop in the right way; the nature of the parenting and the parent play a crucial role in the growth and development of their interpersonal relationships. Growing up, seeing people around them set examples of moral and good behaviour help the child to follow the same and grow up to be a well-rounded individual with a healthy psyche. A child requires the right and healthy amount of love, acceptance, appreciation, encouragement, and guidance in order to grow up to and access their full potential in life. The presence of a parental figure hence plays a pivotal role in the development, and thus, the kind of personality that they grow up to have!

About the author

Aarchi Mandal is born and brought up in Mumbai and has loved and embraced the shore with all her heart. She believes in always being in touch with one’s inner self through the joy of little things like cafes, books, and comfort shows. Currently pursuing Psychology as her major from SDSOS, she hopes to help and cheer those around her through her writing and provide insight through her writing. Her spontaneity and compassion drives her to achieve her objectives and has a strong desire to inspire those around her.