An "adult child" is not someone who is immature by choice; they are someone whose by the necessity of survival. The cause is almost always a survival adaptation to a home where it was not safe to be a child. Healing typically involves "re-parenting" oneself—learning to provide the safety and consistency that was missing in their formative years.
To survive, the child becomes an expert at reading a parent’s mood. This develops into an adult who is compulsively people-pleasing and unable to identify their own needs because they were always focused on the needs of the "unpredictable" adult. 2. The Thwarted Separation-Individuation Process What Causes an Adult Child
The concept of the "adult child"—most commonly associated with the movement—refers to individuals who, despite reaching chronological maturity, continue to operate using the survival mechanisms, emotional responses, and cognitive frameworks developed in a dysfunctional childhood home. An "adult child" is not someone who is