Understanding The Failure To Launch Syndrome

By Cynthia Patterson


It can both be frustrating and heart-breaking for parents to witness their kids struggle to leave home and start their lives independently. A parent might wonder if they did something to inhibit growth of their child or whether that child is simply being lazy. While both scenarios are a possibility, there are many factors that influence failure to launch syndrome. The cause is what will determine the kind of assistance that the child will need.

Failure to launch is a term used to describe young adults that are struggling with transition into adulthood. It can be defined as the inability of the person to leave home and start living independently. People that mostly suffer from it are the young adults. They appear to be stuck and might not be maturing in the manner that is expected. For most young adults, rites of passage are encouraging. For some, the opposite is true as the resulting changes will lead to regressive behavior in them.

Most of the young adults will usually need extra support at one point during transition into adulthood. This might include some stint at home with parents. This does not however mean that all such people that live with parents are failing to launch. It is something that can only he considered after long duration of dependency from the person, and without any notable motivation or progress. Some of the symptoms of the syndrome are low distress tolerance, low persistence levels and failure to take responsibility.

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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