Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Understanding The Failure To Launch Syndrome

By Cynthia Patterson


It is very frustrating and also heart-breaking for a parent when they have a child struggling to leave home and start living independently. This is a situation that could make a parent to wonder whether they made some mistake that is inhibiting growth of the child or if that child is just being lazy. Whereas both of those scenarios are possible, there are a number of factors that lead to failure to launch syndrome. The factor that leads to it determines the treatment mode.

The term is a common way of describing young adults who are struggling with the transition to adulthood. It is defined as inability to leave home and support oneself, irrespective of the underlying causes. The people that suffer from it are young adults and will appear to be stuck or are not maturing in the expected manner. The majority of young adults will find the rites of passage into adulthood encouraging and enabling. For some of them however, the changes cause regressive behaviors.

Most young adults are in need of extra support during the transition into adulthood. This could include some stint with parents at home. It does not however imply that all such individuals who live with their parents will fail to launch. It is something that is considered after long periods of dependency from the person without motivation to progress. Examples of symptoms of failure to launch syndrome are failure to take responsibility, low level of persistence and low tolerance for distress.

There are various causes of the syndrome as well as influencing factors. Parenting styles, family experience and the relationship between parents and children is a factor. Parents who are overprotective tend to raise children that will have some lack of autonomy. When a kid is not faced with age-appropriate challenges at different stages, they will miss out on opportunity to develop confidence.

Another possible cause is substance abuse. Entitlement, isolation and unhealthy family systems are factors that could possibly lead to the syndrome. When there is addiction, it could be difficult to notice failure to launch. People suffering from chemical addictions are likely to experience diminished emotional, cognitive and financial stability. Notwithstanding addiction type, anyone that suffers from addiction will live a life that is not manageable.

Give that there are different factors that interfere with successful launch, there will also be different treatment options. It is advisable to involve the family when it comes to setting require expectations, setting of short-term goals and creation of a long-term plan. All these should be sustainable. In the end, these help to bring the affected back on track. In many cases, the people affected will be better off living with other young adults without the same challenges.

The person will need to be given clear responsibilities and should face natural consequences should they fail to live up. It helps to employ organizational coaches who will help the individual in establishment of plans that can assist in accomplishment of goals such as finding some part-time jobs.

It is also important to consider individual therapy. This will apply to addressing of any doubts as regards sense of effectiveness of the individual that is affected. Individual therapy also increases awareness of emotions and ability of that person to communicate their emotions effectively.




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